General Audience: Francis calls for rediscovering the joy of praying as a family

Who has never regretted: " I have no time to pray ". A regret " sincere " because " the human heart always seeks prayer ". To achieve this, the Pope warns, one must" cultivate in one's heart a warm love for God, an affectionate love ". One must see God, not only as the Almighty, but also as " a caress that keeps us alive, from which nothing, not even death, can detach us ". Only in this way do " we feel happy ", because God " accompanies us on the journey of life, protects us and loves us ". "Prayer helps us to escape the obsessions of a life in which we are always short of time, it helps us to recover the peace of the things that are necessary and to discover the joy of unexpected gifts."

Citing the example of Martha and Mary, the Holy Father encouraged the rediscovery of the harmony of the rhythms of the family: the beauty of celebration, the serenity of work and the spirit of prayer. While acknowledging that managing time within the family is complicated amid the daily turmoil and concerns, he asked parents to teach their children the sign of the cross and to pray when sitting down at table, at midday and in the evening. And he rejoiced that mothers teach their children to blow a kiss to Jesus or to Mary. " In that instant, the heart of the children becomes a place of prayer, it is a gift of the Holy Spirit " Francis stressed. And this gift, " it is in the family that one learns to ask for it and to appreciate it ".

"The human heart always seeks prayer even without knowing it, and it does not know peace if it does not find it, prayer is a language of affectionate love that touches us, amazes us and moves us. It springs from listening to Jesus, from familiarity with his word. When the spirit of prayer dwells in us unceasingly, and when God is affectionately present to all our thoughts, like a caress that keeps us alive, then we are happy in his presence. Thus everything becomes prayer, whereas, without affection for God, even the words of prayer do not warm life."

It is then that " the time of the whole family life is found in the bosom of God's love and spontaneously seeks the time of prayer ". Despite the daily occupations, some nevertheless manage " to solve an equation that even the great mathematicians cannot solve " and accomplish in 24 hours what would be done in 48 hours. "These fathers and these mothers would deserve a Nobel Prize", he remarked with humor." The spirit of prayer brings time back to God, it escapes the obsession of a life that is always short of time, it recovers the peace of the things that are necessary and discovers the joy of unexpected gifts ". For this, the Pope recalled two essential things: to read a passage of the Gospel each day and to teach children to make the sign of the cross. "The Gospel read and meditated on daily is like good bread that nourishes everyone's heart."

Among the French-speaking faithful present in Saint Peter's Square, Pope Francis greeted the French-speaking pilgrims, in particular the seminarians of the diocese of Meaux, accompanied by their bishop, Bishop Jean-Yves Nahmias.

(Tratto dall'archivio della Radio Vaticana)

Source: news.va