PIME missionary: silence and prayer, places of "conversation" with God
Bangkok (AsiaNews) - Contemplation, silence and prayer are privileged places for meeting and "speaking with God" for priests, religious and lay faithful, especially within their families. This was underlined by Fr. Raffaele Manenti, of the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions (PIME), in his homily at Mass celebrated in the church of Our Lady of Mercy in Nonthaburi, about 20 km north of Bangkok. In the Sunday service of the local Catholic community, the priest of Italian origin also recalled the figure of St. Gregory, who often likened the act of "pray" to that of "breathing", both considered "essential" for human life.
The parish of Fr. Manenti is close to the provincial house of the PIME fathers and not far from the Saint Christina Nursing Home. He leads a community that in little more than twenty years has grown exponentially; from a small group of faithful to a large and complex organization that celebrates three overcrowd Sunday Masses every weekend.
Catholics in Thailand are a very small percentage, only 0.1% of a total population of 66.7 million inhabitants. But the community is full of vitality and initiative as evidenced by the Nonthaburi parish. In this Year of Faith, prayer time as a moment of "intimate" of "encounter with God in our hearts," is becoming increasingly important as pointed out by the Italian missionary. "The hard work and the daily grind - adds Fr. Manenti - is eating away at time for prayer. This is why we suggest you use your car as an ideal "chapel" for morning and evening prayers.
Before going to bed, the
missionary also suggests the faithful to "spend time in silence" to
make an "examination of conscience" of the day that has just ended. In
addition, he stresses the importance of Common Prayer "in the family"
as the moment "of thanks and asking for forgiveness and blessing for
all." Moreover
prayers before meals, departures for long trips are also ideal opportunities
"for a prayer or for the sign of the cross."
"A
calm and collected mind - said Father. Manenti - helps contemplation. [...
Even] Pope Francis reminded the priests of the value of a moment of silence at
the end of the Gospel and Communion to encourage reflection."
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