Lamenting Suffering Is A Form Of Prayer (pope Francis)

[BarbTherese]

http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/pope-says-lamenting-suffering-is-form-of-prayer/

 

Vatican City, Jun 5, 2013 / 11:20 am (CNA/EWTN News).

 

Pope Francis said

lamenting suffering is a form of prayer and is not a sin

 

“A priest I know once said to a woman who lamented to God about her misfortune, ‘but, madam, that is a form of prayer, go ahead with it,’” Pope Francis said in his June 5 homily.

“To lament before God is not a sin,” he added.

Pope Francis based his reflections on a reading from the third chapter of Tobit, which was read at Mass today.

It tells the story of Tobit, who was blinded despite a life of good works, and Sarah, who married seven men that all died before their wedding night. They both pray to God to let them die.

“They are people in extreme situations and they seek a way out,” Pope Francis said.
“They complain, but they do not blaspheme.”

He also mentioned malnourished children, refugees and the terminally ill as examples of those suffering.

Pope Francis went on to speak of the day’s Gospel from Mark 12 in which the Sadducees ask Jesus, if a woman is widowed and marries seven times, which man will be her husband in heaven.

He noted the Sadducees were talking about this woman “as if she were a laboratory, all aseptic” and that “hers was an abstract, moral problem.”

“When we think of the people who suffer so much, do we think of them as though they were an abstract, moral conundrum, pure ideas … ?” asked Pope Francis. “Or do we think about them with our hearts, with our flesh, too?”  
 

 

“I do not like it when people speak about tough situations in an academic and not a human manner, sometimes with statistics and that’s it,” he remarked. “In the Church there are many people in this situation.”

The Pope advised people to pray for those who suffer, noting “here is the mystery of the communion of saints.”

 

 

“They must come into my heart, they must be a cause of restlessness for me, my brother is suffering, my sister suffers,” he stated.

“Pray to the Lord, ‘but, Lord, look at that person, he cries, he is suffering,’” the Pope said.

Pope Francis explained that because of their prayers, God did not let Tobit and Sarah die, but rather healed Tobit and gave a husband to Sarah.

“Prayer always reaches God, as long as it is prayer from the heart,” he said.

“When it is an abstract exercise, such as that the Sadducees were discussing, it never reaches him because it never goes out of ourselves,” he remarked.

In those cases, the Holy Father asserted, it “is an intellectual game” and “we do not care.”

He then asked people to pray for those who live in dramatic situations and suffer as much as Jesus on the cross.

The Mass was attended by members of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, as well as some personnel from the Vatican Apostolic Library.

The prefect of the congregation, Cardinal Antonio Cañizares Llovera, Archbishop Augustine DiNoia, secretary of the same congregation, and Monsignor Cesare Pasini, prefect of the Library, also participated.

 

Edited June 7, 2013 by BarbaraTherese

[franciscanheart]

This is awesome and something I definitely needed to see. Thank you for posting!

[BarbTherese]

:)

 

[BarbTherese]

 

“A priest I know once said to a woman who lamented to God about her misfortune, ‘but, madam, that is a form of prayer, go ahead with it,’” Pope Francis said in his June 5 homily.

“To lament before God is not a sin,” he added.

 

 

Usually when I post these texts, they have spoken to me in some way.  I am really grateful that Pope Francis said the above.  I always used to share whatever was in my heart with Jesus, since being God, He knows what is in my heart anyway.  Then it clicked home that St Therese had schooled herself not even to complain to Jesus about anything she was suffering, and consequently, I felt a bit devastated since I am such a fan of St Therese and her theology.  And so I reasoned on a bit further (being me) looking for something to rationalize my sharing EVERYTHING with Jesus, even my little pinpricks along the way, and came to the conclusion that St Therese called herself a "little soul", but I was an "extra tiny creature", so much so that I cannot even attempt to imitate St Therese in total - and not only on score of suffering by far either.

But it is a very real consolation to hear a Pope say it is not a sin :buddies2: And feel that I can now go on moaning and groaning and griping to The Lord and it is not at least offensive to Him!   I mean, if prayer is the simple raising of one's heart to Him, then sometimes I have to confess that despite all my efforts and even good intentions, my heart is heavy with a moan, groan and gripe and I am labouring heavily along in my journey under some tiny pinprick or other.  Pope Francis says it is not a sin to complain - but then to my way of thought, it is not the heights of virtue either ............ but sometimes despite desire and hopes, intentions, I just can't make it no which way, despite all effort, to any sort of even tiny little height of something even remotely virtuous. :coffee:  Ahhh well, one has to love to pieces Catholic Spiritual Theology and The Lord who gave it to us -  since in such failures one can always hope to learn something about humility and thus, out of a negative sorta situation comes a positive.  No matter where one is nor turns in life - down a garden path or up a creek, or round the bend - The Loving Mercy of Jesus is there to joyfully and happily greet one.

 

 

 

 

Edited June 13, 2013 by BarbaraTherese

[BarbTherese]

Just put dinner on (5.15pm here on Thur 13.6.13 - Vespers happens here in Bethany when it happens :) ) and then settled down to watch a bit of TV while dinner was cooking, when our now retired, the all-Aussie's much loved Catholic priest, Fr Bob Maguire, our quite larrikin 75yr-something old priest was there on my TV,  making this comment "If you have a lemon,then make lemonade" - in other words, if you have a gripe or something that is negative in life, then make a positive out of it - and it is our Catholic Spiritual Theology and Jesus who gave it to us, that allows us to do this anywhere at all and at any time - nothing precluded.  Even in sin we are told by Jesus "the whole of Heaven rejoices at the return of the sinner".   It did strike me that "if you have a lemon, then make lemonade" was a good comment in this post - and a quote that I immediately internalized and will remember in future :like2:  Just one of those quotes one won't forget and among many short and witty wisdoms that Fr. Bob can make and in an expression and tone of quite gruff voice that seems to say: 'How stupid are you!" making one laugh........................and think.

 

 

[franciscanheart]

I was very afraid for a long time to go to adoration with anything resembling resentment, anger, frustration, sadness, confusion, etc. I wanted to always be happy and joyous and loving and excited. Eventually though I realized that this was unrealistic, at least for me, and that what Christ really wanted from me was the truth: what was really going on. I imagine it's something like the intimacy between close friends or between spouses in those moments when, despite all efforts toward the positive, someone shares the hurt / pain / anger / whatever for no other reason than to start to let it go. Those moments I share with friends are beautiful; they are the same with Christ. As the listener, I feel a sense of great intimacy, trust, and awe to be sharing in such a personal experience. In my mind, grief is more difficult to share than joy. As the expresser of something like grief or anger or despair, I feel a great sense of relief just to have exposed my heart to someone. Whatever they say, it's no where near their gift of just LISTENING. Again, I imagine Christ in the same way.

He didn't give us lives that we should never experience pain. If we can't talk to Him, then whom?

[BarbTherese]

I was very afraid for a long time to go to adoration with anything resembling resentment, anger, frustration, sadness, confusion, etc. I wanted to always be happy and joyous and loving and excited. Eventually though I realized that this was unrealistic, at least for me, and that what Christ really wanted from me was the truth: what was really going on. I imagine it's something like the intimacy between close friends or between spouses in those moments when, despite all efforts toward the positive, someone shares the hurt / pain / anger / whatever for no other reason than to start to let it go. Those moments I share with friends are beautiful; they are the same with Christ. As the listener, I feel a sense of great intimacy, trust, and awe to be sharing in such a personal experience. In my mind, grief is more difficult to share than joy. As the expresser of something like grief or anger or despair, I feel a great sense of relief just to have exposed my heart to someone. Whatever they say, it's no where near their gift of just LISTENING. Again, I imagine Christ in the same way.

He didn't give us lives that we should never experience pain. If we can't talk to Him, then whom?

 

 

 

Powerful comments, FH, in every line.  What in a special way came home to me were:

 

. I imagine it's something like the intimacy between close friends or between spouses in those moments when, despite all efforts toward the positive, someone shares the hurt / pain / anger / whatever for no other reason than to start to let it go. Those moments I share with friends are beautiful; they are the same with Christ. As the listener, I feel a sense of great intimacy, trust, and awe to be sharing in such a personal experience. In my mind, grief is more difficult to share than joy. As the expresser of something like grief or anger or despair, I feel a great sense of relief just to have exposed my heart to someone. Whatever they say, it's no where near their gift of just LISTENING. Again, I imagine Christ in the same way.

He didn't give us lives that we should never experience pain. If we can't talk to Him, then whom?

 

Jesus has told us:"Come to me all you who are laboured and are burdened and I will refresh you" Matthew Ch11.  It did strike me on a second read of what FH had to say that nowhere does Jesus turn aside away from someone who is in some sort of pain or suffering - not in one place in The Gospels.  Rather, in the "come to me" verse quoted, Jesus invites us to come to Him and just as we are with our wounds and burdens, our labours - and as FH pointed out  "I feel a sense of great intimacy, trust, and awe to be sharing in such a personal experience"  Sharing our difficulties and sufferings with Jesus can and does indeed refresh the spirit, lightening any burden experienced, and indeed (again quoting FH) "If we can't talk to Him, then to whom?"

 

I did especially like your comments, FH, comparing our relationship with Jesus to the spousal relationship and one of very close intimacy in which everything is shared, nothing hidden.

 

Excellent post - and thank you very much for sharing your inmost self with us!