杏MAP导航

By Vatican News staff writer

The 杏MAP导航 Video for December, the last one in 2020, has just been released with the prayer intention that 杏MAP导航 Francis is entrusting to all the Catholic Church through the (which includes the Eucharistic Youth Movement 鈥� EYM).

In a year marked by the global Covid-19 pandemic, the Holy Father shares with us the secret of Jesus鈥� life, 鈥渢he key for us to be able to enter into dialogue with the Father鈥�: prayer.

Through a life of prayer, it is possible to have a personal and profound relationship with Jesus Christ and to change our hearts. Prayer鈥攍istening to Jesus, contemplating Jesus, speaking with Him as with a friend鈥攖ransforms our lives. It is the path to drawing closer to the Father.

The 杏MAP导航鈥檚 prayer during the pandemic

The 杏MAP导航 himself is a man of prayer, and The 杏MAP导航 Video bears witness to this with images taken from the most emotive moments of 2020: the prayer service for the pandemic in an empty St. Peter鈥檚 Square; a pilgrimage of the crucifix of San Marcelo in Via del Corso, in the middle of Rome; and moments of recollection before the Byzantine icon of Salus Populi Romani at the Roman Basilica of St. Mary Major.

Jesus Christ: a live marked by prayer

For 杏MAP导航 Francis, prayer cannot be reduced to just a space or moment of interior contemplation. 鈥淏y praying, we change reality. And we change our hearts,鈥� he says in The 杏MAP导航 Video.

Prayer always produces a change. 鈥淲e can do many things, but without prayer, it does not work,鈥� he says. In the General Audience on 4 November, he also took advantage of the opportunity to explain Jesus鈥� life of prayer. 鈥淒uring his public life, Jesus constantly availed himself of the power of prayer. The Gospels show this to us when he retired to secluded places to pray. These are sober and discreet observations that allow us only to imagine those prayerful dialogues. They clearly demonstrate, however, that even at times of greater dedication to the poor and the sick, Jesus never neglected his intimate dialogue with the Father.鈥�

Prayer as the heart of the Church鈥檚 mission

Today, the 杏MAP导航鈥檚 Worldwide Prayer Network connects millions of Catholics around the world from diverse countries, cultures, and social and ecclesial contexts, through prayer: not just through The 杏MAP导航 Video, but also through the prayer platform Click to Pray and the Camino del Corazón, a path of prayer for the mission.

The 杏MAP导航 Video this month concludes with 杏MAP导航 Francis鈥� invitation to prayer, observing a few moments of silence, during the Audience with the 杏MAP导航鈥檚 Worldwide Prayer Network on its 175th anniversary.

Fr. Frédéric Fornos, S.J., International Director of the 杏MAP导航鈥檚 Worldwide Prayer Network, remembered the occasion: 鈥淚t was one of the most intense moments of the celebration. The Holy Father presided a long period of prayer, in Paul VI Hall, in an imposing climate of silence and recollection with more than 5,000 people. And there, he left it very clear that prayer and the mission of the Church are indissolubly united. The mission of the Church is at the service of the challenges of the world, and this is not possible without prayer. Francis summarized it quite simply: 鈥楾he heart of the mission of the Church is prayer.鈥� For many, prayer is reduced to a peaceful time or one of reflection, but for those who discover its depth, it鈥檚 the heart鈥檚 respiration. Prayer opens us to Love, which has a face: Jesus Christ, who leads us to the Father. Often, it鈥檚 fruits and its fecundity aren鈥檛 immediately visible. Like the seed in the dirt, it takes time鈥� but its fecundity is immense, as the Gospel says: it produces thirty-, sixty-, and even a hundred-fold (Mk 4:20). Prayer is essential for the mission of the Church. Let us pray that our personal relationship with Jesus may always be nourished by the Word of God and by a life of prayer.鈥�

DECEMBER: FOR A LIFE OF PRAYER

The text of the December 2020 prayer intention:

The heart of the Church鈥檚 mission is prayer.

Prayer is the key for us to be able to enter into dialogue with the Father.

Every time we read a short passage from the Gospel we hear Jesus speaking to us.

We have a conversation with Jesus.

We listen to Jesus and we reply.

And this is prayer.

By praying, we change reality.

And we change our hearts.

Our heart changes when we pray.

We can do many things, but without prayer, it does not work.

We pray that our personal relationship with Jesus Christ be nourished by the Word of God and a life of prayer.

In silence, everyone, each one in heartfelt prayer.