“Pray to Me, so that I will be able to accomplish My work of love in all souls” (Father’s message to Sister Eugenia Ravasio).
One of the most beautiful and fruitful tasks that our Father entrusts to us is prayer. Not only is it of inestimable value for our own sanctification but it benefits all humanity.
What is it that makes prayer so valuable, to such an extent that God calls some in our Church to consecrate their whole lives to it, withdrawing from the world and considering it their main mission for the Church and the world, along with the path of holiness?
What is it that moves the Virgin Mary to appear again and again, persistently telling the visionaries – for example, Mariette in Banneaux (Belgium) – to pray often?
Devoted and faithful prayer opens the way to a trusting dialogue with God. It brings light and grace to our souls and to the whole world. It drives away the powers of darkness and can unleash God’s action in concrete situations (cf. e.g. Rev 8:3-4). Prayer is a bridge from heaven to earth and from earth to heaven; a ladder by which angels descend and ascend, bringing our prayers before the throne of God (cf. Gen 28:12).
“The Spirit too comes to help us in our weakness, for, when we do not know how to pray properly, then the Spirit personally makes our petitions for us in groans that cannot be put into words” (Rom 8:26). So it is the Holy Spirit who prays in and with us, and He Himself impels us to prayer.
The “true worshipers,” who worship the Father “in spirit and in truth” (Jn 4:23), become a flaming sword in the hands of God. Their prayers springs from the Heart of God, as well as from the depths of their own heart. They are capable of piercing every fog, overcoming every obstacle and leading back to God.
The Father calls us to be co-operators of salvation and wants to include us in the salvific work, because, as St. Augustine says, “God who created you without you, will not save you without you” (St. Augustine, Sermo, 169,13). Thus, prayer becomes a constant and attentive listening to His Will, and also communicates to us the grace to fulfill it fruitfully.
Our Father asks for our prayer in order to carry out His “work of love” in all souls. What an honor for man, and what a great request of the Father for the salvation of humankind!