‘The Paschal prayer of Jesus for us’: Pope Francis concludes general audience series on prayer
June 16, 2021
Pope Francis devoted his Wednesday general audience on June 16 to “the Paschal prayer of Jesus for us.”
“Today we conclude our series of catecheses on prayer by turning once again to the prayer of Jesus,” in the words of the Vatican’s summary of the Pope’s remarks. “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..” The summary continued:
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.
The June 16 audience was the 37th catechesis in the Pope’s series of Wednesday general audiences on prayer. The series began in May 2020 (2020 audiences, 2021 audiences).
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