Pope Benedict XVI said knowing that Catholics around the world pray for him has given him strength and confidence since his election seven years ago. “From the first moment of my election as the successor of Peter, I always have felt supported by your prayers, by the prayers of the church, especially in the most difficult moments,” he said May 9 at his weekly general audience. Interrupted by the applause of the estimated 10,000 people gathered for the audience in St. Peter’s Square, the pope told those who pray for him, “I thank you from the depths of my heart.” Continuing a series of talks about examples of prayer in the Acts of the Apostles, the pope turned to the story of St. Peter’s imprisonment in Jerusalem and his miraculous liberation.
The biblical account emphasizes how the entire Christian community was gathered for fervent prayers for the apostle while Peter slept in the jail, the pope said. The episode, he said, “demonstrates the power of prayer. With constant, trusting prayer,” the pope said, the Lord frees people from their chains, accompanies them through the dark night, and “he gives us the serenity of heart to face life’s difficulties, including rejection, opposition, persecution. Constant, unanimous prayer is a precious instrument for overcoming the trials that arise in life,” because it is a sign of being united with God and one another, he said.
VATICAN CITY (CNS)