Pope: when the Evil One wants to fight the Church, he stops Her praying

"We see it in certain groups that come to an agreement to bring about changes in the life of the Church, all the media that inform ... But prayer is not seen". General audience dedicated to "The Church teacher of prayer". Monasteries "vital cells, not only for the ecclesial fabric but for society itself".

Vatican City (AsiaNews) – The life of faith and even the Church cannot last without prayer, it cannot progress if it does not pray, because "everything is born in prayer, and everything grows thanks to prayer".

Moreover, “when the Enemy, the Evil One, wants to fight the Church, he does so first of all by trying to drain her sources, preventing her from praying. For example, we see it in certain groups that agree to bring about changes in the life of the Church, all the media that inform ... But prayer is not seen."

This was the warning launched today by Pope Francis in an off-the-cuff reflection in the speech for the general audience, dedicated to "The Church teacher of prayer".

"The life of a parish and of every Christian community - he said - is marked by the calendar of the liturgy and community prayer", which makes "that gift we received in childhood" from parents or grandparents grow.

"We realize that it is a great and very rich heritage, and that the experience of prayer deserves to be deepened more and more (cf. ibid., 2688). The habit of faith is not starched, it develops with us, even through moments of crisis and resurrections. Indeed, we cannot grow without moments of crisis”.

“After certain passages in life, we realize that without faith we would not have been able to do it and that prayer has been our strength. Not only personal prayer, but also that of the brothers and sisters, and of the community that accompanied and supported us. For this reason, too, communities and groups dedicated to prayer flourish continuously in the Church. Some Christians even feel the call to make prayer the main action of his days. In the Church there are monasteries, convents, hermitages, where people consecrated to God live and which often become centres of spiritual radiation. They are small oases where intense prayer is shared and fraternal communion is built day by day. They are vital cells, not only for the ecclesial fabric but for society itself. Let us think of the role that monasticism played in the birth and growth of European civilization, and also in other cultures”.

“Praying and working in community drives the world forward. Everything in the Church is born in prayer, and everything grows thanks to prayer. When the Enemy, the Evil One, wants to fight the Church, he does so first of all by trying to drain its sources, preventing her from praying”.

"For example - he continued off the cuff - we see him in certain groups that agree to bring about changes in the life of the Church, all the media that inform ... But prayer is not seen. Don't pray. 'We have to change this, we have to make this harsh decision’. Only with discussions, only like the media? Where is the prayer?"

“Prayer is what inspires changes in the Church”. "Without prayer they are no changes in the Church, just changes of groups".

"If prayer ceases, for a while it seems everything continues as always, by inertia, but after a short time the Church realizes that it has become an empty envelope, that it has lost its supporting axis, that it no longer possesses the source of warmth and love."

The saints show it. "Holy women and men do not have an easier life than others, on the contrary, they too have their problems to face and, moreover, they are often the object of opposition. But their strength is prayer, which they always draw from the inexhaustible 'well' of Mother Church. With prayer they feed the flame of their faith, as was done with the oil of lamps. And so they go on walking in faith and hope. The saints, who often count for little in the eyes of the world, are actually those who support it, not with the weapons of money and power, of the media, but with the weapons of prayer”.

Francis then recalled that in the Gospel of Luke, Jesus poses a dramatic question that always makes us reflect: "When the Son of man comes, will he find faith on earth?" (Lk 18,8) or, he asked himself, "will he only find entrepreneurs of the faith, all well organized, and who do charities, many things, or will he find faith?". “This question is at the end of a parable that shows the need to pray with perseverance, without getting tired. Therefore, we can conclude that the lamp of faith will always be lit on earth as long as there is the oil of prayer. This is what the Church carries on, our poor life ".

“This is an essential task of the Church: to pray and educate to pray. Transm to keep the lamp of faith from generation to generation with the oil of prayer. Without the light of this lamp, we could not see the way to evangelize; we could not see the faces of the brothers to approach and to serve; we could not light up the room where we can meet in community… Without faith, everything collapses; and without prayer, faith is extinguished. There is no other way. For this reason, the Church, which is a home and school of communion, is a home and school of prayer”.

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