In his homily at Casa Santa Marta, Pope Francis said that God never gives us a gift without the added grace of the Holy Spirit.
Reflecting on Jesus' parable on prayer, the Pope said that God not only forgives, but always gives more than we hoped for.
POPE FRANCIS
'This is the gift, this is Godâ??s added extra. God never gives you a gift, something that you ask for, without wrapping it up well, without adding something extra to make it even more beautiful. And that little bit more that the Lord, the Father gives us, is the Spirit. The true gift of the Father is the one that prayer does not dare to hope for. 'I ask for this grace; I ask for this, I knock and pray so much... I only hope that you will give me this'. And He who is Father, will give me that and more: He will give me the gift of the Holy Spirit.â?
To pray to the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, he said, is praying to the real persons of the Trinity and not something abstract.
POPE FRANCIS
'There is the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, they are persons, they are not some vague idea in the clouds ... This God spray does not exist! The three persons exist! Jesus is our companion on the journey who gives us what we ask; the Father who cares for us and loves us; and the Holy Spirit is the gift, the extra gift from the Father, that our consciousness does not dare to hope for'.
Pope Francis concluded by saying that Christ accompanies and teaches the faithful to pray and that prayer is a way to 'seek and knock at the heart of God.'
SUMMARY OF THE POPE'S HOMILY
Source: Vatican Radio
'This got me thinking: it is precisely the mercy of God not only to forgive - we all know that - but to be generous and give more and more ... We asked: 'And obtain what prayer does not dare to hope for'. When we pray we might ask for this [intention] or that [intention] and He always gives us more, much more!â?.
'Jesus goes a step further and speaks of the Father: What father among you would hand his son a snake when he asks for a fish? Or hand him a scorpion when he asks for an egg? If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?''.
'This is the gift, this is Godâ??s added extra. God never gives you a gift, something that you ask for, without wrapping it up well, without adding something extra to make it even more beautiful. And that little bit more that the Lord, the Father gives us, is the Spirit. The true gift of the Father is the one that prayer does not dare to hope for. 'I ask for this grace; I ask for this, I knock and pray so much... I only hope that you will give me this'. And He who is Father, will give me that and more: He will give me the gift of the Holy Spirit'.
'He accompanies us and teaches us to pray. And our prayer should be Trinitarian. So often [people ask]: 'But do you believe?': 'Yes! Yes! '; 'What do you believe in?'; 'In God!'; 'But what is God for you?'; 'God, God'. But God does not exist: Do not be shocked! So God does not exist! There is the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, they are persons, they are not some vague idea in the clouds ... This God spray does not exist! The three persons exist! Jesus is our companion on the journey who gives us what we ask; the Father who cares for us and loves us; and the Holy Spirit is the gift, the extra gift from the Father, that our consciousness does not dare to hope for'.
JAE
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