Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Pope points to Moses as model of intercessory prayer

Pope Benedict XVI said at the June 1 general audience that intercessory prayer helps us to grow in deeper information of God and his mercy and makes us more competent of loving others in a self-sacrificial way.

Drawing upon the life of Moses, the Pope told pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square that the Old Testament prophet not only led his people out of slavery in Egypt but also gave them and us an example of how to offer prayers of intervention.


“Even when the people at Sinai, asked Aaron to make the golden calf, Moses prays, and this is very symbolic of his role as intercessor.”

The Pope recognized various aspects of the intercessory prayer of Moses we can learn from. The first he named was fasting, just as Moses did for 40 days on Mount Sinai.

“The act of eating, in fact, involves taking the food that sustains us, so fasting, giving up food is, in this case, of religious significance: it is a way to point out that man does not live by bread alone but by every word that profits from the mouth of the Lord.”


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