During those nights of faith, the one who prays is never alone. Jesus,
in fact, is not only a witness and teacher of prayer; He is more. He welcomes
us in His prayer so that we might pray in Him and through Him. This is the work
of the Holy Spirit. For this reason, the Gospel invites us to pray to the
Father in Jesus’ name. Saint John provides these words of the Lord: “Whatever
you ask in my name, I will do it, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.”
And the Catechism explains that “the certitude that our petitions will be heard
is founded on the prayer of Jesus.” It gives the wings that the human person’s
prayer has always desired to possess. Without Jesus, our prayer risks being
reduced to human effort destined most of the time to failure. But He has taken
on Himself every cry, every groan, every jubilation, every supplication, every
human prayer.
From an etching by Margaret Walters, (1924 - 1971). Recent words of Pope Francis on prayer.
