POPE TALK | KAIROS GLOBAL | AUGUST 2021

Author: Dr Kochurani Joseph

On the Cross, Jesus prayed for you

We should take courage in the fact that even as Jesus was dying on the Cross, his most agonising moment on earth, he was praying for us. Even in the most painful suffering, we are never alone. It is beautiful to remember that not only do we receive grace through our own prayers, but that we have also been prayed for by Jesus to the Father. And so, with prayer and with life, there remains only to have courage and hope, and with this courage and hope, to feel the prayer of Jesus strongly and to keep on going, so that our life may be one of giving glory to God.

Coronavirus recovery must have true vision for humanity

Rebuilding after the coronavirus pandemic is an opportunity to confront the failures of the past, including failures toward God and neighbour. At the same time, recovery efforts must seek true equality and development for all peoples. Let us invoke the three principles of ‘Look, Judge and Act’. Those who do not act waste the opportunities offered by the crisis. The crisis opens the way for us to a future which offers individuals fair and real opportunities for development.

All that is good belongs to God

God asks us to trust that his love is always at work through our good deeds, even if we do not see the results we had hoped for.  The Gospel assures us God is at work, like a small good seed which silently and slowly sprouts. Slowly this small seed transforms into a luxurious tree giving life and refreshment to everyone, just like our own good works have the potential to do. The Gospel asks us to have bigger eyes, which know how to see beyond, especially beyond appearances. The good often grows in small, hidden, or even invisible ways. 

Prayer and work are complementary

A father and a mother, caught up in a thousand tasks, may feel nostalgia for a time in their life in which it was easy to find regular times and spaces for prayer.  God, our Father, who takes care of all the universe, always remembers each one of us. Therefore, we too must always remember him.  But it would be inhuman to become so absorbed by work that prayer falls by the wayside. At the same time, a prayer that is alien from life is not healthy. A prayer that alienates itself from the concreteness of life becomes spiritualism, or worse, ritualism. 

The Holy Trinity invites us to grow in unity as Christians 

This mystery of the Trinity has revealed to us the face of God as a merciful Father; he presented himself as the Son of God and Word of the Father; he spoke of the Holy Spirit. The Trinity makes us contemplate this wonderful mystery and poses an invitation to grow in the unity to which Jesus calls us. And this unity is essential to Christians because it is the unity that is born from the love of Trinity. Love is essentially a gift of self which reflects the infinite reality of the Holy Trinity in which the Father gives himself by generating his Son, who in turn gives himself to the Father, and their mutual love is the Holy Spirit, the bond of their unity.

God’s time is not our time

When people pray with a sincere heart, when they ask for things that correspond to the Kingdom of God, when a mother prays for her sick child, why does it sometimes seem that God does not listen? To answer this question, we need to meditate calmly on the Gospels. We see that at times Jesus’s response is immediate, whereas in some other cases it is delayed and it seems that God does not answer. Think of the Canaanite woman who begs Jesus for her daughter. But for a time, Jairus had to walk in the dark, with only the flame of faith. 

Pope Francis says …

• Try to transform the time of trial into a time of choice.

• We need attentive eyes to be able to seek and find God in all things. 

• Prayer is not a magic wand but a dialogue with God.

• Never forget that Jesus is praying for you before the Father.

• Jesus was not a mere philanthropist who cared about human suffering. 

August

The ChurchLet us pray for the Church, that she may receive from the Holy Spirit the grace and strength to reform herself in the light of the Gospel.