During the General Audience Pope Francis reflected on the prayer of Jesus, remembering Jesus’ constant dialogue with the Father in the final hours of His life.
He reflected on the Last Supper, the agony in the garden and the crucifixion to point out how Jesus identified “Himself with the poor and abandoned of our world” and took “upon himself the burden of all the sins of the world.”
The Pope invited Christians to “always be mindful that the Lord never ceases to pray for us, uniting us to His own eternal dialogue of love with the Father.”
SUMMARY OF THE POPE’S CATECHESIS IN ENGLISH:
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Today we conclude our series of catechesis on prayer by turning once again to the prayer of Jesus. In the final hours of his life, Jesus’ constant dialogue with the Father becomes all the more intense, as he approaches his saving death and resurrection.
In the great “priestly prayer” of the Last Supper, Jesus intercedes for his disciples and for all those who will believe through their word. In the agony in the garden, he offers his anguish to the Father and lovingly embraces his will. At the darkest hour of his suffering on the cross, Jesus continues to pray, using the traditional words of the Psalms, identifying himself with the poor and abandoned of our world. In those moments, the crucified Lord takes upon himself the burden of all the sins of the world.
For our sake, he experiences the distance separating sinners from God, and becomes the supreme and eternal intercessor for all mankind. In our own life of prayer, may we always be mindful that the Lord never ceases to pray for us, uniting us to his own eternal dialogue of love with the Father in the communion of the Holy Spirit.
