In preparation for the 2025 Jubilee Year ‘Pilgrims of Hope,’ Pope Francis has designated 2024 as a Year of Prayer. He said, “I ask you to intensify your prayer to prepare us to live well in this event of grace and to experience the strength of God’s hope. […] A year dedicated to rediscovering the great value and absolute need for prayer in personal life, in the life of the Church, and the world.” (Angelus, January 21, 2024)[1] With these words, Pope Francis encourages each faithful to continue praying in all seasons of life – in good times, in bad times, in times of hopelessness, in times of optimism, in times of sorrows, and in times of joys. We must constantly pray for God to work in our lives and transform us and our community.
The theme of the Word Conference 2024 is PRAYING THE WORD OF GOD: “LORD, TEACH US TO PRAY.” (LUKE 11:1) Prayer is the raising of one’s mind and heart to God or the requesting of good things from God.” (CCC#2559). After embarking on the synodal process as a Church, Pope Francis invites us “to dedicate this year to rediscovering the great value and absolute need for prayer in one’s personal life, the life of the Church, and the world.” As we journey together, we must recognize how prayer nurtures our faith and relationship with God. Moreover, when we pray, we are transformed into the image of Christ as a community of believers.
Essential in nourishing and enriching our prayer life is making the Eucharist the focal point of our Christian lives. The Eucharist is “the source and summit of the Christian life” (Lumen Gentium, #11). In the Eucharistic liturgy and our prayer before the Blessed Sacrament, we encounter God’s presence personally and profoundly. The Lord, Jesus Christ, has instituted the Eucharist (Mt 26:26-30; Mk 14:22-26; Lk 22:14-20; Jn 6:22-59) to show us that He wants to enter into our lives and fill us with His life. In the Eucharist, we not only open ourselves and meet Christ’s real presence but also hear His words, especially during the Liturgy of the Word.
In this Year of Prayer, the Holy Father also challenges us to go deeper in our commitment and perseverance in our prayer life. While personal prayer is a priority, as it helps nurture our faith and helps us value our relationship with God, Pope Francis explained that the strength found in prayer together is why “communities and groups dedicated to prayer flourish continuously in the Church.” Hence, community prayer is another way to become closer to God through others. As Jesus said, where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them. (Mt 18:20)
And to return to the basics of prayer, he has encouraged us to focus on the most important Christian prayer – the Our Father. It is the prayer that Jesus taught and entrusted his disciples and the Church when one of them said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray…” (Luke 11:1). With this prayer, each one of us enters into communion with the Father and with Jesus, who has revealed Him to us. Praying the Our Father allows us to worship and praise God. The Lord’s Prayer, which is found in the New Testament in the gospels of Luke 11: 2-4 (the shorter version) and Matthew 6: 9-13 (the longer version), is considered “truly the summary of the whole gospel.” (CCC #2761)
The Claretian Missionaries in the
Philippines (Fr. Gallardo Province), under the care of the Prefecture of the
Bible Apostolate and Communications and the Claretian Communications
Foundation, Inc., initiate this event, which hopes to start the dialogue and
open more venues for conversation to understand further the importance of
Prayer in the life of the faithful and the Church.
[1] “TEACH US TO PRAY” Living the Year of Prayer in Preparation for Jubilee 2025, pp. 7-8
