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GENERAL AUDIENCE
August 1, 2012
Pope Benedict XVI resumed his weekly General Audience on Wednesday, August 1, at Castel Gandolfo's main plaza. The audiences and other public activities of the Pope, other than the Sunday Angelus, were suspended in July, officially the Pope's vacation month.
Resuming his catechetical cycle on Christian prayer, the Pope used the occasion of the liturgical feast of St. Alfonso Liguori to illustrate how the saint and Doctor of the Church who founded the Redemptorist order taught the faithful to pray for the grace to live wisely and well.
Here is a translation of the Holy Father's catechesis:
Dear brothers and sisters:
Today is the liturgical commemoration of St. Alfonso Maria de Liguori, Bishop and Doctor of the Church, founder of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (Redemptorists), patron of moral theology scholars and of confessors.
St. Alfonso was one of the most popular saints of the 18th century for his simple and straightforward teaching and for his doctrine on the sacrament of Penance. In a time of great rigorism, which was an outcome of the Jansenist influence, he urged confessors to administer the sacrament by manifesting the joyous embrace of God the Father, who, in his infinite mercy, never tires of welcoming the penitent son.
Today's observance offers us the occasion to dwell on the teachings of St. Alfonso on prayer, which are ever more valuable and replete with spiritual inspiration.
In 1759, he wrote the tract Del gran mezzo della Preghiera (published in English as "The Great Means of Salvation and of Perfection'), which he considered the most useful of his writings. He describes prayer as the necessary and sure means to obtain salvation and all the graces we need to achieve it (Introduction). This sentence synthesizes the Alphonsian understanding of prayer.
First of all, by calling prayer a 'means', he reminds us of the goal to be reached: God created out of love, to be able to give us life in full. But this goal, life in full, has become distant, so to speak, because of sin, as we all know, and only the grace of God can make it accessible.
To explain this basic truth, and to make it clear with urgency that the risk for man to 'lose himself' was real, St. Alfonso coined a famous and very elementary maxim, which says: "He who prays is saved; he who does not pray is condemned".
Commenting on such a lapidary statement, he added: "In short, to be saved without prayer is most difficult, if not impossible, but by praying, salvation is certain and most easy" (II, Conclusion).
He also says: "If we do not pray, we have no excuse, because the grace of prayer is given to everyone... If we are not saved, it is all our fault for not having prayed" (ibid.).
By saying that prayer is a necessary means, St. Alfonso wished to make it understood that in every situation in life, one cannot do less than to pray, especially in times of trial and difficulty.
We must often knock on God's door, knowing that in all ways, he takes care of his children, of us. Therefore, we are asked not to fear going to him and presenting him our requests with trust, in the certainty that we will obtain what we need.
Dear friends, this is the central question: What do I really need in my life? With St. Alfonso, I say: "Health and all the graces that are necessary for it" (ibid.). Of course, he meant not just the health of the body, but above all, that of the soul which Jesus gives us.
More than anything else, we need his liberating presence that makes us fully human, and thus makes our existence replete with grace. Only through prayer can we welcome him, his grace, which, enlightening us in every situation, makes us discern true good, and strengthening us, makes even our will effective - it makes us able to do the good that we discern.
We often recognize what is good but we are not able to do it. With prayer, we are able to carry it out. The disciple of the Lord knows that he is always exposed to temptation and must never fail to ask God's help, through prayer, in order to overcome it.
St. Alfonso cited the example of St. Filippo Neri, most interestingly, who, from the moment he woke up in the morning, would tell God: "Lord, hold your hand today over Phillip, because otherwise, Phillip will betray you" (III,3).
What a great realist! He asks God to hold his hand over him. We, too, aware of our weakness, must ask God's help with humility, trusting in the richness of his mercy.
In another passage, St. Alfonso says: "We are poor in everything, but if we ask, we are no longer poor - God is rich" (II,4). And, following St. Augustine, he invites very Christian to pray and not be afraid to procure God's help, through prayer, to have the strength he does not have, and which he needs in order to do good, in the certainty that God will not deny his help to whoever prays to him with humility (cfr III,3).
Dear friends, St. Alfonso reminds us that relationship with God is essential in our life. Without a relationship with God, we lack the fundamental relationship, and this relationship is realized by speaking to God, in our daily personal prayer and in our participation in the Sacraments, so that this relationship can grow is us, so that the divine presence that orients our journey enlightens it and makes it sure and serene, even amidst difficulties and dangers. Thank you.
[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 02/08/2012 12:56] |