Jesus is praying for each of us, Pope says

Published: 22 January 2012

VATICAN CITY (Zenit.org): Benedict XVI says that Jesus' prayer at the Last Supper shows the Saviour's attentiveness to each one of his individual disciples.

"In participating in the Eucharist we experience in an extraordinary way the prayer that Jesus offered, and continually offers, for each one of us in order that evil - which we all encounter in life - may not have the power to overcome us, and so that the transforming power of Christ's death and resurrection may act in us," the Pope said.

He said that Eucharistic celebrations are a "being drawn into" the moment of Christ's prayer, "a uniting ourselves again and again to Jesus' prayer."

"From her earliest days, the Church has understood the words of consecration as part of her praying together with Jesus; as a central part of the praise filled with thanksgiving through which the fruit of the earth and of men's hands are given to us anew by God in the form of Jesus' Body and Blood," the Holy Father said.

He reflected that participation in the Eucharist, and "nourishing ourselves on the Flesh and Blood of the Son of God" is a uniting of our prayer "to that of the paschal Lamb on his last night, so that our lives might not be lost, despite our weakness and infidelity, but might be transformed."

The Pontiff concluded with an invitation to make participation in the Eucharist the "summit of our prayer."

He suggested to ask Christ "that, by being united deeply to his own offering to the Father, we too may transform our crosses into a free and responsible sacrifice of love to God and to our brothers and sisters."