Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Catholic News

Home

Home
Catholic
Religion News
Pope Francis: Don’t ‘overdramatize’ your complaints to God

Pope Francis: Don’t ‘overdramatize’ your complaints to God

Last updated on: September 30, 2014 at 3:13 pm by CNA Daily News

Pope Francis: Don’t ‘overdramatize’ your complaints to God 2014-09-30T15:13:00+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, Sep 30, 2014 / 09:13 am (CNA/EWTN News).- In his homily on Tuesday Pope Francis said complaining to God in times of suffering can be a prayer, but cautioned not to exaggerate our difficulties in front of those undergoing major tragedies.

“Our life is too easy, our complaints are overdramatized,” the pontiff told those in the Vatican’s Saint Martha house in his Sept. 30 daily Mass.

“Faced with the complaints of so many people, of so many brothers and sisters who are in the dark, who have almost lost all memory, almost lost all hope – who are experiencing this exile from themselves, who are exiled, even from themselves, (our complaints are) nothing!”

The Holy Father noted how Job's prayer in the first reading seems to be a curse after having lost everything, and “his body had become a plague, a disgusting plague.”

“He had lost all patience and he says these things. They are ugly! But he was always accustomed to speak the truth and this is the truth that he feels at that moment,” the pontiff said, noting how the prophet Jeremiah also cursed the day in which he was born.

“But is this man blaspheming? This is my question: Is this man who is so very alone, blaspheming? Is it blasphemy when Jesus complains – 'Father, why have You forsaken me?’ This is the mystery.”

Pope Francis then said he has listened to many “who are experiencing difficult and painful situations, who have lost a great deal or feel lonely and abandoned and they come to complain and ask these questions: Why? Why?”

When he encounters these people, who often rebel against God, Pope Francis said he tells them: “Continue to pray just like this, because this is a prayer. It was a prayer when Jesus said to his father: 'Why have You forsaken me!'"

Prayer means being truthful before God, he said, adding that we should all “pray with reality” because “true prayer comes from the heart, from the moment that we are living in.”

The pope observed how many are in the same situation as Job who “do not understand what has happened to them, or why”, and there are “many brothers and sisters who have no hope.”

“Just think of the tragedies, the great tragedies, for example, of these brothers and sisters of ours who because they are Christians were driven out of their homes and left with nothing: ‘But, Lord, I have believed in you. Why? Is believing in you a curse, Lord?’”

Pope Francis also drew attention to the elderly, the sick and the many lonely people in hospitals, assuring that the Church constantly offers prayers all who walk in darkness.

“The Church prays! She takes this pain upon herself and prays,” he said.

There are even some who are angry with God who refuse to go to Mass over some trifling complaint with the Lord, the pope noted.

Pope Francis compared these difficulties in prayer to those had by Saint Therese of Lisieux, who celebrates her feast day on Oct. 1. Sick with tuberculosis at the end of her life, the saint struggled to keep her thoughts on God despite serious doubts that emerged in her heart.

“We all go through this situation, we experience this situation. There are so many people who think it all ends in nothing. Yet Saint Therese prayed and asked for strength to persevere in the dark. This is called entering into patience.”

Bringing to mind the many who have lost everything or live in exile, the Pope explained that “Jesus walked this path: from sunset on the Mount of Olives to the last word from the Cross: 'Father, why have you forsaken me!”

Pope Francis concluded his homily by giving two suggestions which can help us in moments of darkness, the first being “to prepare ourselves for when the darkness comes.”

Secondly, we should “Pray, pray as the Church prays; pray with the Church for so many brothers and sisters who suffer exile from themselves, who are in darkness and suffering, without hope at hand.”

This, he said, “is the prayer of the Church for these Suffering Jesus’ who are everywhere.”

Vatican

Previous Post

September 30, 2014

Synod at heart of papal liturgies for month of October

Next Post

September 30, 2014 Vatican spurns UN child committee's call for changes to canon law

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

Why were the plagues significant against Egyptian beliefs?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Each plague targeted an Egyptian god They were meant to test Pharaoh’s patience Pharaoh had offended the Hebrew people They were random acts of nature