(November 30, 2011) Every week on Wednesday, the Pope holds a public meeting, called
the general audience, during which pilgrims and tourists who come to Rome have a chance
of seeing and hearing him speak in several languages. The general audience of Nov.
30 was held indoors, in the Vatican’s Paul VI Audience Hall. It began with a scripture
reading from Psalm in several languages. An aide greeted the Pope on behalf
of the English speaking pilgrims introducing the various groups to him. Pope Benedict
then spoke in English.
Listen: Dear
Brothers and Sisters, In our catechesis on prayer, we now turn to Jesus,
who by his own example most fully reveals the mystery of Christian prayer. A significant
moment in this regard is Jesus’ prayer following his Baptism, which expresses his
both his deepest identity as the Son of God and his solidarity with the sinful humanity
whom he came to save. Jesus’ prayer reflects his complete, filial obedience to the
Father’s will, an obedience which would lead him to death on the Cross for the redemption
of our sins. With his human heart, Jesus learned to pray from his Mother and from
the Jewish tradition, yet the source of his prayer is his eternal communion with the
Father; as the incarnate Son, he shows us perfectly how to pray as children of the
heavenly Father. Jesus’ example of fidelity to prayer challenges us to examine the
time and effort we devote to our own prayer. While prayer is a gift of God, it is
also an art learned through constant practice. Jesus teaches us to pray constantly,
but also to bear witness before others of the beauty of prayer, self-surrender and
complete openness to God. I greet the distinguished delegations from various
countries taking part in the meeting promoted by the Community of Sant’Egidio on the
theme: No Justice without Life. I express my hope that your deliberations will encourage
the political and legislative initiatives being promoted in a growing number of countries
to eliminate the death penalty and to continue the substantive progress made in conforming
penal law both to the human dignity of prisoners and the effective maintenance of
public order. Upon all the English-speaking pilgrims present, including those from
the United States, I invoke God’s blessings of joy and peace!