Pope says constant prayers of the faithful give him confidence
May 09, 2012
Adding a personal touch to his series of weekly talks on prayers, Pope Benedict XVI told his public audience on May 9 that since his election as Pontiff, “I have always felt supported by the prayers of the Church--by your prayers--especially at moments of greatest difficultly, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
The Holy Father devoted his talk to the story from the Acts of the Apostles in which St. Peter was released from prison by the intervention of an angel, after the entire Christian community had prayed for him. This “inconceivable and unexpected act of liberation” was God’s response to “the Church’s incessant prayer,” the Pope said.
While he was in prison St. Peter was not terribly worried, Pope Benedict observed; the story in Acts records that he was asleep when the angel came to release him. The ability to sleep soundly in an objectively dangerous situation shows “tranquility and trust,” the Pope said. St. Peter, like the other leaders of the early Christian community, had the habit of relying on God’s help and trusting in Providence.
All Christians should emulate that confidence, the Pope told his Wednesday audience. When we place our trust in God, “He gives us serenity of heart to face the difficulties of life, even rejection, opposition and persecution.”
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