Pope at Audience: prayers for Eucharistic Congress
I
invite all of you to join me in praying that the Congress will bear
rich spiritual fruit in a greater appreciation of our Lord’s gift of
himself to us in the Eucharist and a deeper love of the mystery of the
Church, which draws us into ever fuller communion with him and with one
another through the daily celebration of the Eucharistic sacrifice.
The
Holy Father’s salute to the Congress and those participating in it came
at the end of his weekly General Audience, during which he continued
his catechetical series on prayer in the writings of St Paul the
Apostle.
The principal focus of the Pope’s remarks this Wednesday
was the Apostle’s testimony to his own experience of contemplative
prayer.
Defending the legitimacy of his apostolate, Paul appeals
above all to his profound closeness to the Lord in prayer, marked by
moments of ecstasy, visions and revelations (cf. 2 Cor 12:1ff.). Yet he
speaks too of a trial which the Lord sent him lest he become conceited:
a mysterious thorn in the flesh (v. 7). Paul therefore willingly
boasts of his weakness, in order that the power of Christ might dwell in
him (v. 10).
Pope Benedict went on to say that, through this
experience of mystical prayer, Paul realized that God’s Kingdom comes
about not by our own efforts but by the power of God’s grace shining
through our poor earthen vessels (cf. 2 Cor 4:7).
We see that
contemplative prayer is both exalting and troubling, since we experience
both the beauty of God’s love and the sense of our own weakness. Paul
teaches us the need for daily perseverance in prayer, even at times of
dryness and difficulty, for it is there that we experience the
life-changing power of God’s love.
Following the catechesis, the
Holy Father greeted pilgrims in many languages, including English, in
which he welcomed pilgrims and visitors who are taking part in various
international gatherings underway in Rome this week:
I am pleased to greet the participants in the Twenty-first Intercoiffure
World Congress. I also welcome the visitors from the Anglican Diocese
of Southwark. My cordial greeting goes to the pilgrims from the
Catholic Society of the Two Hearts of Jesus and Mary. I thank the Cantores Minores from Finland and the other choirs for their praise of God in song.
Pope Benedict concluded his English remarks with a blessing: Upon
all the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors present at today’s
Audience, including those from England, New Zealand, Samoa and the
United States I invoke God’s blessings of joy and peace!
The Holy
Father’s blessing followed his appeal for the International Eucharistic
Congress, underway in Dublin, Ireland this week. The Congress opened on
Sunday, June 10th, and runs through Sunday, June 17th.
