Moses' Prayer Is an Expression of God's Desire for His People

Dear Brothers and Sisters, continuing our catechesis on Christian Prayer, we now turn to the great prophetic figure of Moses. As the mediator between God and Israel, Moses is a model of intercessory prayer. We see this clearly in the episode of the golden calf. As Moses descends from Mount Sinai where he has spoken to God and received the gift of the law, he confronts both the infidelity of the people who now worship an idol of gold, and the god's powers.

Moses intercedes for his people, fully acknowledging the gravity of their sin. He also pleads with God to remember his mercy, to forgive their sin, and thus to reveal His saving power.

Moses' prayer of petition is an expression of God's own desire for the salvation of His people and His fidelity to the covenant. Through his intercessory prayer, Moses grows in deeper knowledge of the Lord and His mercy, and becomes capable of a life which extends to the total gift of self.

In this prayer Moses points beyond himself to the perfect intercessor who is Jesus, the Son of God, who brings about the new and eternal covenant in his blood, shed for the forgiveness of sin, and the reconciliation of all God's children.

God Himself Becomes The Just Man

Dear brothers and sisters, continuing our catechesis on Christian prayer, we now turn to sacred scripture and its witness to the dialogue between God and man in history; a dialogue culminating in Jesus Christ, the Word Made Flesh.

We can begin with the prayer with which Abraham, the father of all believers, implores God not to destroy the sinful city of Sodom. Abraham's prayer of intercession pleads to Gods justice, begging him not to destroy the innocent with the guilty; but it also pleads to God's mercy, which is capable of transforming evil into good through forgiveness and reconciliation.

God does not desire the death of the sinner but his conversion and liberation from sin. In reply to Abraham's prayer God is willing to spare Sodom if ten righteous men can be found there. Later, through the prophet Jeremiah, he promises to pardon Jerusalem if one just man can be found.

In the end God Himself becomes the just man. In the mystery of His incarnation Christ's prayer of intercession on the cross brings salvation to the world. Through Him let us pray with unfailing trust in God's merciful love for all mankind, conscious that our prayers will be heard and answered.

A Matter of the Heart

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

In our catechesis on Christian prayer, we have seen how prayer is part of the universal human experience. Our own age, marked by secularism, rationalism and an apparent eclipse of God, is showing signs of a renewed religious sense and a recognition of the inadequacy of a purely horizontal, material vision of life. Man is made in the image of God; a desire for God is present in every heart and man in some way knows that he is capable of speaking to God in prayer. Saint Thomas Aquinas tells us that prayer is the expression of our desire for God, a desire which is itself God’s gift. Prayer is first and foremost a matter of the heart, where we experience God’s call and our dependence on his help to transcend our limitations and sinfulness.

The posture of kneeling at prayer expresses this acknowledgment of our need and our openness to God’s gift of himself in a mysterious encounter of friendship. Let us resolve to pray more frequently, to listen in the silence of our hearts to God’s voice, and to grow in union with the God who has revealed himself in Jesus Christ, with the One who is infinite Love.

I offer a warm greeting to the Missionary Benedictine Sisters of Tutzing visiting Rome for a program of spiritual renewal. Upon all the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors present at today’s Audience, especially those from England, Australia, India, Indonesia, Japan, Canada and the United States, I invoke an abundance of joy and peace in the Risen Christ!

(2nd installment in the Holy Father's Catechesis on Christian Prayer. To view his introduction to this series, click here.)