Pope’s general prayer intention for October

September 30, 2013 - The general prayer intention of the Pope for the month of October which is for people who feel so crushed by life that they wish to end it, that they may sense the nearness of God’s love. Psychiatry shows that the causes of depression and despair can be many and complex, as are the treatments. The Christian faith tells us that the Son of God on His own took upon Himself human suffering, to offer mankind hope by revealing the love of God to us. On Divine Mercy Sunday Pope Francis said: “For God, we are not numbers, we are important, indeed we are the most important thing to him;…we are what is closest to his heart.” Faith doesn’t take suffering away, but it does give the assurance that we are not abandoned in our pain but close to Jesus who Himself has triumphed over suffering and death. Pope Francis offered a wonderful analogy. “Christ opened the path to us. He is like a roped guide climbing a mountain who, on reaching the summit, pulls us up to him and leads us to God. If we entrust our life to him, if we let ourselves be guided by him, we are certain to be in safe hands, in the hands of our Savior, of our Advocate.” The Pope reminds us that in suffering “we are never alone…we have with us a multitude of brothers and sisters who, in silence and concealment, in their family life and at work, in their problems and hardships, in their joys and hopes, live faith daily, and together with us bring the world the lordship of God’s love.” Let us therefore join Pope Francis in the month of October, in praying for and helping with our words and actions all those who feel crushed by life. (Source: Vatican)