Our ‘amen’ expresses trust in Christ, Pope teaches

Last updated on: May 30, 2012 at 6:44 pm by CNA Daily News

Our ‘amen’ expresses trust in Christ, Pope teaches 2012-05-30T18:44:00+00:00 CNA Daily News

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Vatican City, May 30, 2012 / 12:44 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- When Christians say “amen,” they are expressing their trust in the loving promise of God manifested in Jesus Christ, Pope Benedict said during his General Audience on Wednesday.

“The Spirit, poured forth into our hearts, leads us to the Father, constantly making present God’s ‘Yes’ to us in Christ and in turn enabling us to say our ‘Yes’ – Amen! – to God,” the Pope told tens of thousands of pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square on May 30.

“Our use of the word ‘Amen,’ rooted in the ancient liturgical prayer of Israel and then taken up by the early Church, expresses our firm faith in God’s word and our hope in his promises.”

Pope Benedict’s remarks continued his catechesis on Christian prayer with a particular focus in recent weeks upon the interior life of St. Paul. This week the Pope explored the Apostle’s Second Letter to the Corinthians where he writes;

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.”

This promise of comfort is not an exemption from suffering, said the Pope, but a plea not to let ourselves “be overcome by tribulations and difficulties.”

“We are invited to experience every situation in unity with Christ, who takes all the suffering and sin of the world upon himself in order to bring light, hope and redemption.”

Either by providence or planning, Pope Benedict seemed to touch upon with his own present suffering following the recent prosecution of his personal butler for stealing confidential documents.

“Our life and our Christian journey are often marked by difficulty, misunderstandings and pain,” he said, adding that “in a faithful relationship with the Lord, in constant daily prayer, we are able to feel the consolation that comes from God.”

The source of this strength, he explained, is a relationship of mutual love between God and man. This is the thrust of St. Paul’s proposition to the Christians in Corinth – that the incarnation of Jesus Christ “is God’s ‘Yes’ to mankind and the fulfillment of all his promises” and that “through Jesus we say our ‘Amen,’ to the glory of God.”

“For Paul, prayer is above all God’s gift, grounded in his faithful love which was fully revealed in the sending of his Son and the gift of the Holy Spirit,” observed the Pope.

Sadly, however, this faithful love of God is not always returned by man. Despite this, said the Pope, the “entire history of salvation is a progressive revelation of this fidelity of God’s, despite our own infidelity and our constant denials.”

The difference between human and divine love, he explained, is that when we are “faced with conflict in human relationships, often even within the family, we tend not to persevere in gratuitous love, which requires commitment and sacrifice.”

God on the other hand “never loses patience with us and, in his immense mercy, precedes us always and comes out to meet us.”

It is important, therefore, for humans to “enter into Christ’s ‘yes’ by following God’s will.” In this way we will be like St. Paul in being able to affirm that “it is not we who live, but Christ himself who lives in us,” Pope Benedict said.

The “amen” of our personal and community prayer “will embrace and transform all of our lives.”

Vatican

Previous Post

May 30, 2012

Young Catholic woman with rare syndrome speaks on true beauty

Next Post

May 30, 2012 John Paul II, St. Therese of Lisieux among WYD Rio patron saints

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Americas Asia - Pacific Europe Middle East - Africa Uncategorized US Vatican

Select a Month November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who was the cupbearer to the king who fasted and prayed for Jerusalem?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Zerubbabel Ezra Haggai Nehemiah