An Invitation to Prayer

by Pope John Paul II

• ISBN13: 9780743444392
• ISBN10: 0743444396
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2002-02-26
• Publisher: Atria

Summary

FOR PEACE

May those responsible be persuaded

that war is an adventure with no return!

War nevermore!

Grant in our time

days of peace!

In this Vatican-authorized volume, Pope John Paul II highlights the profound impor

Author Biography

Karol Wojtyla, Pope John Paul II, was born in Wadowice, Poland, in 1920. He studied literature and drama in Krakow and later worked at a stone quarry and at a chemical plant. During the German occupation of Poland in World War II he began preparing for the priesthood and was ordained in 1946. Wojtyla became bishop of Krakow in 1958, archbishop in 1964, and cardinal in 1967. He was elected Pope in 1978 and is the 264th bishop of Rome.

Table of Contents

Introduction	ix
Prayer	1	(32)
To God	33	(30)
To Christ	63	(34)
To the Holy Spirit	97	(12)
To Mary	109	(76)
For Christian Unity	185	(14)
For Vocations	199	(46)
For Peace	245	(16)
For the Family	261	(18)
Believe and You Will Live	279

Excerpts

Chapter One: Prayer "Totus tuus ego sumet omnia mea tua sunt.Accipio te in mea omnia!"I am entirely yours,and all that I have is yours.Be my guide in all things. The Church exists for prayerI would like to speak to you about the call to prayer.We have meditated on these words of Jesus: "Pray that you may have strength...to stand before the Son of man." And we welcome again today the call to prayer that comes from Christ himself to each of us and to the whole Church. The call to prayer places the Church's full commitment in the proper perspective. In 1976, Paul VI, speaking of the "call to commitment," declared that "in the tradition of the Church every call to action is first of all a call to prayer." These words have great significance today, too. They are a stimulus for the Church everywhere in the world.The universal Church of Christ, and hence every particular church, exists for prayer. In prayer the individual expresses his nature; the community expresses its vocation; the Church approaches God. In prayer the Church enters into communion with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. In prayer the Church expresses her Trinitarian life, because it is directed to the Father, is subjected to the action of the Holy Spirit, and lives fully the relationship with Christ. Indeed, it is experienced as the Body of Christ, as mystical Christ.The Church encounters Christ in prayer in the depths of her being. In this way she discovers the truth of his teachings and assumes his mentality. Seeking to live a personal relationship with Christ, the Church fully realizes the personal dignity of her members. In prayer the Church focuses on Christ; she takes Christ; she takes possession of him, she tastes his friendship, and thus is able to communicate it. Without prayer, all this would be lacking and the Church would have nothing to offer the world. But through the exercise of faith, hope, and charity in prayer, her capacity to communicate Christ is strengthened.Prayer is the objective of every catechesis in the Church, since it is a means of union with God. Through prayer the Church expresses the authority of God and fulfills the first and great commandment of love.Every aspect of human existence is marked by prayer. Man's work is revolutionized by prayer, raised to its highest level. Prayer is the means by which work is fully humanized. In prayer the value of work is understood, because we grasp the fact that we are truly collaborators with God in the action of transforming and elevating the world. Prayer consecrates this collaboration. At the same time prayer is a way of confronting the problems of life, and in prayer every pastoral undertaking is conceived and carried forward.The call to prayer must precede the call to action, but the call to action must in fact accompany the call to prayer. The Church finds in prayer the root of social commitment -- the capacity to motivate and sustain it. In prayer we discover the needs of our brothers and sisters and make them our needs, because in prayer we discover that their needs are the needs of Christ. Social consciousness is formed by prayer. According to the words of Jesus, justice and mercy are the "weightier matters of the law." The Church's commitment to justice and her search for mercy will be successful only if the Holy Spirit gives the gift of perseverance: this gift must be sought in prayer.In prayer we arrive at an understanding of the beatitudes and the reasons for living them. Only through prayer can we begin to see the aspirations of men according to the perspective of Christ. Without the intuitions of prayer we would never be able to grasp all the dimensions of human development and the urgency, for the Christian community, of commitment to this work.Prayer invites us to examine ou