{"id":343,"date":"2012-06-20T18:28:00","date_gmt":"2012-06-20T18:28:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/news\/prayer-is-surest-guide-for-lifes-troubles-pope-teaches\/"},"modified":"2012-06-20T18:28:00","modified_gmt":"2012-06-20T18:28:00","slug":"prayer-is-the-surest-guide-for-lifes-troubles-pope-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2012\/06\/prayer-is-the-surest-guide-for-lifes-troubles-pope-says\/","title":{"rendered":"Prayer is the surest guide for life’s troubles, Pope says"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Vatican City, Jun 20, 2012 \/ 12:28 pm (CNA\/EWTN News<\/a>).- Pope Benedict XVI says the life and writings of St. Paul should remind all Christians that the surest guide through the trials of life is prayer.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cPaul\u2019s prayer invites us to contemplate the unfolding of God\u2019s saving plan in history and to discern the signs of its presence in our own lives and in the life of the Church,\u201d the Pope said during his June 20 general audience.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cIn our own prayer, may we praise the mystery of our election in Christ, and open our hearts and lives ever more fully to the transforming presence of the Blessed Trinity.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tPope Benedict delivered his remarks to thousands of enthusiastic pilgrims who were gathered in the Vatican\u2019s Paul VI Hall. Continuing his weekly catechesis on prayer, he turned his attention to the \u201cgreat prayer of praise and blessing\u201d that is to be found at the beginning of St. Paul\u2019s Letter to the Ephesians.<\/p>\n

\tIn it St. Paul blesses God the Father for making known \u201cthe mystery of his will,\u201d through which God \u201cchose us in Christ,\u201d before the creation of the world, to be his adopted children and receive a glorious inheritance.<\/p>\n

\tSt. Paul reminds us, said the Pope, that while \u201cour prayers are often a request for help in our hour of need\u201d there is also cause to give thanks to God \u201cbecause we receive so many good things\u201d from him.<\/p>\n

\tTherefore, our prayer \u201cshould also be praise and, if we open our hearts, we come to realize that, despite all problems, creation is beautiful and good.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tThe Pope also reflected on the meaning of the phrase the \u201cmystery\u201d of God for Christians. He explained that for Christians this term \u201cdoes not so much mean the unknown as the merciful will of God, his plan of love which was fully revealed in Jesus Christ.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tPope Benedict then outlined the key reasons given by the Apostle for giving thanks to God, starting with his \u201cmarvelous design for humankind\u201d that calls everybody \u201cinto existence\u201d and \u201cto sanctity.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\u201cWe have been in his plan and his thoughts forever,\u201d said the Pope, noting that the vocation to holiness and communion is \u201cpart of his eternal plan, a plan which stretches over history and which includes all the men and women of the world, because the call is universal.\u201d
\n\t\u00a0
\n\tSt. Paul\u2019s primary reason for giving praise to God, however, is Christ\u2019s sacrifice on the cross, which was \u201cthe unique and unrepeatable event by which the Father demonstrated in a brilliant way his love for us, not just in words, but in concrete terms.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tSo concrete and tangible is this divine love, Pope Benedict explained, that \u201cit shares not only in our life, but also in our suffering and in our death.\u201d
\n\t\u00a0
\n\tFinally, St. Paul looks to the future when redemption reaches its fullness and \u201cthose whom God has acquired will be completely saved.\u201d
\n\t\u00a0
\n\tIn giving our \u201cyes\u201d freely to God, said the Pope, each of us can \u201ctravel this road of redemption together with Christ and thus redemption is fulfilled.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tIn conclusion, Pope Benedict said that the example of St. Paul shows how in prayer \u201cwe grow in the love of God, opening the door for the Blessed Trinity to come and dwell among us, bringing us light and warmth and guiding our lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tThe result is prayerful men and women who are \u201cnot animated by egoism, the desire to possess and the thirst for power\u201d but by \u201cgratuitousness, the desire to love and serve.\u201d
\n\t\u00a0
\n\tIn short, he said, they become people who are \u201canimated by God,\u201d and \u201conly in this way can we bring light into the darkness of the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n<\/a>\n<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Vatican City, Jun 20, 2012 \/ 12:28 pm (CNA\/EWTN News).- Pope Benedict XVI says the life and writings of St. Paul should remind all Christians that the surest guide through the trials of life is prayer.<\/p>\n

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