Pope Francis: Praise God especially in difficult moments

Pope Francis urged Catholics on Wednesday to praise God not only in happy times, "but especially in difficult times".

In his general audience speech on January 13, the Pope compared those who praise God to mountaineers who breathe oxygen that allows them to reach the top of a mountain.

He said that praise "should be practiced not only when life fills us with happiness, but above all in difficult moments, in moments of darkness when the path becomes an uphill climb".

After undergoing these "challenging passages", he said, we can see "a new landscape, a broader horizon".

“Praising is like breathing pure oxygen: it purifies the soul, makes us look far away so as not to be imprisoned in the difficult moment, in the darkness of difficulty”, he explained.

In Wednesday's speech, Pope Francis continued his cycle of catechesis on prayer, which began in May and resumed in October after nine talks on healing the world after the pandemic.

He dedicated the audience to the prayer of praise, which the Catechism of the Catholic Church recognizes as one of the main forms of prayer, alongside blessing and adoration, petition, intercession and thanksgiving.

The pope meditated on a passage from the Gospel of St. Matthew (11: 1-25), in which Jesus responds to adversity by praising God.

“After the first miracles and the involvement of the disciples in the proclamation of the Kingdom of God, the mission of the Messiah is going through a crisis,” he said.

“John the Baptist doubts and gives him this message - John is in prison: 'Are you the one who is to come, or will we look for another?' (Matthew 11: 3) because he feels this anguish of not knowing if he is wrong in his proclamation “.

He continued: "Now, precisely in this disappointing moment, Matthew relates a truly surprising fact: Jesus does not raise a lament to the Father, but rather raises a hymn of jubilation: 'I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth", says Jesus , "That you have hidden these things from wise men and intellectuals and revealed them to children" (Matthew 11:25) ".

“Thus, in the midst of a crisis, in the midst of the darkness of the soul of so many people, like John the Baptist, Jesus blesses the Father, Jesus praises the Father”.

The pope explained that Jesus praised God above all for who God is: his loving Father. Jesus also praised him for revealing himself to the "little ones".

"We too must rejoice and praise God because humble and simple people welcome the gospel," he said. "When I see these simple people, these humble people who go on pilgrimage, who go to pray, who sing, who praise, people who perhaps lack many things but whose humility leads them to praise God ..."

"In the future of the world and in the hopes of the Church there are the 'little ones': those who do not consider themselves better than others, who are aware of their limitations and their sins, who do not want to rule over others, who, in God the Father, they recognize that we are all brothers and sisters “.

The pope encouraged Christians to respond to their "personal defeats" in the same way Jesus did.

“In those moments, Jesus, who strongly recommended the prayer to ask questions, just when he would have had reason to ask the Father for explanations, begins to praise him instead. It seems to be a contradiction, but it is there, it is the truth, ”he said.

"To whom is praise useful?" churches. “To us or to God? A text from the Eucharistic liturgy invites us to pray to God in this way, says this: “Even if you do not need our praise, yet our thanks is itself your gift, for our praises add nothing to your greatness, but they benefit us for salvation. By giving praise, we are saved ”.

“We need the prayer of praise. The Catechism defines it in this way: the prayer of praise 'shares the blissful happiness of the pure in heart who love God in faith before seeing him in glory' ".

The pope then reflected on a prayer of St. Francis of Assisi, known as the "Canticle of Brother Sun".

“The Poverello did not compose it in a moment of joy, in a moment of well-being, but on the contrary, in the midst of discomfort,” he explained.

"Francis was now almost blind, and he felt in his soul the weight of a loneliness he had never experienced: the world had not changed since the beginning of his preaching, there were still those who let themselves be torn apart by quarrels, and moreover, it was aware that death was getting closer and closer. "

“It could have been the moment of disillusionment, of that extreme disillusionment and the perception of one's failure. But Francis prayed in that moment of sadness, in that dark moment: 'Laudato si', my Lord ... '(' All praise is yours, my Lord ... ') "

“Pray praising. Francis praises God for everything, for all the gifts of creation, and also for death, which he courageously calls 'sister' ”.

The pope commented: “These examples of saints, Christians, and even Jesus, of praising God in difficult moments, open the doors of a great road to the Lord, and always purify us. Praise always purifies. "

In conclusion, Pope Francis said: "The saints show us that we can always give praise, for better or for worse, because God is the faithful friend".

“This is the foundation of praise: God is the faithful friend and his love never fails. He is always next to us, always waiting for us. It has been said: “It is the sentry who is close to you and makes you go forward with confidence” “.

“In difficult and dark moments, we have the courage to say:" Blessed are you, O Lord ". Praising the Lord. This will do us a lot of good ".