Pope Francis and Prayer

(Pope Francis on the day of his election being introduced in Vatican Square)

 

 

POPE FRANCIS and PRAYER

 

In the September 30, 2013 issue of AMERICA magazine, there was an extensive interview with Pope Francis by a fellow Jesuit, Antonio Spadaro, SJ;  at the end of the interview,  Pope Francis was asked about his preferred way to pray; this was his response:

 

"I pray the breviary every morning.  I like to pray with the psalms.  Then, later, I celebrate Mass.  I pray the Rosary.  What I really prefer is adoration in the evening, even when I get distracted and think of other things, or even fall asleep praying.   In the evening, then, between seven and eight o'clock,  I stay in front of the Blessed Sacrament for an hour in adoration.  But I pray mentally even when I am waiting at the dentist or at other times of the day.

 

"Prayer for me is always a prayer full of memory,  of recollection, even the memory of my own history or what the Lord has done in his church or in a particular parish.  For me it is the memory of which St. Ignatius speaks in the First Week of the Exercises in the encounter with the merciful Christ crucified.  And I ask myself:  'What have I done for Christ?  What am I doing for Christ?   What should I do for Christ?'   It is the memory of which Ignatius speaks in the 'Contemplation for Experiencing Divine Love,' when he asks us to recall the gifts we have received.   But above all, I also know that the Lord remembers me.   I can forget about him, but I know that he never, ever forgets me.   Memory has a fundamental role for the heart of a Jesuit;  memory of grace, the memory mentioned in Deuteronomy, the memory of God's works that are the basis of the covenant between God and the people.  It is this memory that makes me his son and that makes me a father, too."