Jesus is the model of all prayer.
Pope Francis said, “Prayer on behalf of his friends continually resurfaces in the life of Jesus. The apostles sometimes become a cause of concern for him, but as he had received them from the Father, after prayer, Jesus carries them in his heart, even in their errors, even when they fall... The great turning points of Jesus’ mission are always preceded by prayer, but not just in passing, but rather by intense, prolonged prayer... It is necessary to pray more intensely, every time the road takes an uphill turn... Jesus prays for us. In this moment, in this very moment. Do this memory exercise, repeat this. When there is a difficulty, when you feel the orbital pull of distractions: Jesus is praying for me.”
Regarding perseverance in prayer, the Holy Father said, “It is an invitation, indeed, a command that comes to us from Sacred Scripture. The spiritual journey of the Russian pilgrim begins when he comes across a phrase of St. Paul in the First Letter to the Thessalonians: ‘Pray constantly, always and for everything give thanks’ (cf. 5:17-18). The apostle’s words strike the man and he wonders how it is possible to pray without interruption, given that our lives are fragmented into so many different moments, which do not always make concentration possible. From this question he begins his search, which will lead him to discover what is called the prayer of the heart. It consists in repeating with faith: ‘Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner!’ A simple prayer, but very beautiful.” The Holy Father added: “It is good then for us to think that God, our Father, who must take care of the entire universe, always remembers each one of us. Therefore, we too must always remember him!”
The Catechism offers us beautiful quotations from the history of spirituality regarding perseverance in prayer (CCC 2742-2745). “We have not been commanded to work, to keep watch and to fast constantly, but it has been laid down that we are to pray without ceasing.” (Evagrius Ponticus)
“It is possible to offer fervent prayer even while walking in public or strolling alone, or seated in your shop... while buying or selling... or even while cooking,” said St. John Chrysostom.
“Nothing is equal to prayer; for what is impossible it makes possible, what is difficult, easy,” he continued. “For it is impossible, utterly impossible, for the man who prays eagerly and invokes God ceaselessly ever to sin.”
“Those who pray are certainly saved; those who do not pray are certainly damned,” said St. Alphonsus Liguori.
“He ‘prays without ceasing’ who unites prayer to works and good works to prayer,” taught Origen. “Only in this way can we consider as realizable the principle of praying without ceasing.”
Regarding uniting prayer to works, Pope Francis said, “we can also remember that in Christian monasticism, work has always been held in great esteem, not only because of the moral duty to provide for oneself and others, but also for a sort of balance, an inner balance: it is risky for man to cultivate an interest so abstract that he loses contact with reality. Work helps us to stay in touch with reality... Everything in the human being is ‘binary’: our body is symmetrical, we have two arms, two eyes, two hands.”
“And so, work and prayer are also complementary. Prayer, which is the ‘breath’ of everything, remains as the vital backdrop of work, even in moments in which this is not explicit. It is inhuman to be so absorbed by work that you can no longer find the time for prayer. At the same time, a prayer that alienates itself from life is not healthy. A prayer that alienates us from the concreteness of life becomes spiritualism, or worse, ritualism.”
The Catechism states: “‘Pray constantly’ (1 Thes 5:17). It is always possible to pray. It is even a vital necessity. Prayer and Christian life are inseparable.” (CCC 2757)
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耶穌正在為我們祈禱
耶穌是所有祈禱的模範。教宗方濟各說：「耶穌在衪的生活中不斷為衪的朋友們祈禱。宗徒們有時成為衪的顧慮，但因為是天父交給祂的，所以在祈禱之後，耶穌仍將他們銘記於心，即使在他們犯錯或跌倒時也是如此 … 。耶穌在衪的使命的重要轉折點時總是先祈禱，但不是一帶而過的祈禱，而是強烈而持久的祈禱 … 。每當道路變得艱難時，我們都需要更加熱切地祈禱 … 。 耶穌在這一刻、就在此刻為我們祈禱。當有困難時，當你感到被分心的引力拉扯時，讓我們不断在腦海中重複這句話：耶穌正在為我祈禱。」
關於堅持不懈的祈禱，教宗說說：「這是一項邀請，確實，也是來自聖經的命令。《俄國朝聖者》的神修旅程始於他遇到在《得撒洛尼人前書》中聖保祿宗徒的一句話：『不斷禱告，事事感謝：這就是天主在基督耶穌內對你們所有的旨意。』（參考5:17-18）。宗徒的話震撼了這個人，他想知道怎麼可能不斷地祈禱，即使在我們多姿多彩繁忙的生活中，總是難以讓人集中注意力。從這個問題開始，他展開了尋找，引領他發現所謂的發自內心的祈禱。包括以信德重複這句話：『主耶穌基督，天主之子，可憐我這罪人！』一篇簡單但美麗的祈禱。」教宗補充說：「那麼，讓我們想到天主是美好的事情，必須照顧整個宇宙的天父，總是記得我們每一個人。因此，我們也必須時時記得天主！」
天主教教理為我們提供了靈修史上關於堅持不懈地祈禱的美麗箴言（#2742-2745）：
「我們並沒有受命不斷工作、 警醒和守齋，但根據規定，我們要不斷祈禱。」（Evagrius Ponticus）
「走在街市或獨自散步時，在商店中，在買、賣時，甚 至在廚房作飯時，都可以經常而熱心的祈禱。」（金口聖若望）
「沒有任何事物可以與祈禱的價值相比；祈禱能使 不可能的成為可能，使困難變成容易。祈禱的人不 可能故意犯罪。」（金口聖若望）
「祈禱的人一定得救；不祈禱的人一定喪亡受罰。」（聖亞豐索‧力戈里）
「誰將祈禱與工作，工作與祈禱，在生活中連接起來，他就是在不斷祈禱。也只有這樣，我們 認為不斷祈禱的原則才能得以實現。」（奧利振）
關於將祈禱與行動結合起來，教宗方濟各說：「在基督徒隱修生活中，工作一直受到極高的尊 重，這不僅是因為提供給自己和他人的道德責任，也是為了一種平衡，一種內在的平衡：對於人來說，培養對抽象的事物的興趣而與現實脫節是有危機的。工作幫助我們保持與現實接觸 … 。 人類的一切都是『雨方面』的：我們的身體是對稱的，我們有兩條手臂，兩只眼睛，兩隻手 … 。因此，工作和祈禱也是相輔相成的。祈禱 — 是一切的「呼吸」— 即使在不是明顯的時刻，始終工作是我們生活主要的支持。對於沉醉於工作以至於找不到祈禱時間的是喪失了人性的尊嚴。同時，與生命脫節的祈禱也不健康的。使我們與生活的具體細節脫節的祈禱會變成靈修主義，或者更糟糕地變成儀式主義。」
天主教教理稱：「『不斷祈禱』 (得前5:17)。時時都可以祈禱。祈禱是一種Art生活的基本需要。祈禱和基督徒生活是分不開的。」（天主教教理#2757）
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