Saint Frances Cabrini Parish

Father Kleppner - June 22, 2008

Periodically we are going to share with you some of the talks given by Pope Benedict XVI on his visit to our country last April. We begin with some of his reflections on America and the importance of prayer.
ON AMERICA
From the dawn of the Republic, America’s quest for freedom has been guided by the conviction that the principles governing political and social life are intimately linked to a moral order based on the dominion of God the Creator. The framers of this nation’s founding documents drew upon this conviction when they proclaimed the “self-evident truth” that all men are created equal and endowed with inalienable rights grounded in the laws of nature and of nature’s God.
I am happy to be here as a guest of all Americans. I come as a friend, a preacher of the Gospel and one with great respect for this vast pluralistic society. America’s Catholics have made, and continue to make, an excellent contribution to the life of their country.
May others take heart from your experience, realizing that a united society can indeed arise from a plurality of peoples – “E pluribus unum”: “out of many, one” – provided that all recognize religious liberty as a basic civil right (see Dignitatis Humanae, 2).
As the nation faces the increasingly complex political and ethical issues of our time, I am confident that the American people will find in their religious beliefs a precious source of insight and an inspiration to pursue reasoned, responsible and respectful dialogue in the effort to build a more humane and free society.
Perhaps America’s brand of secularism poses a particular problem: it allows for professing belief in God, and respects the public role of religion and the Churches, but at the same time it can subtly reduce religious belief to a lowest common denominator. Faith becomes a passive acceptance that certain things “out there” are true, but without practical relevance for everyday life. The result is a growing separation of faith from life: living “as if God did not exist.”
Each day, throughout this land, you and so many of your neighbors pray to the Father in the Lord’s own words: “Thy Kingdom come.” This prayer needs to shape the mind and heart of every Christian in this nation. It needs to bear fruit in the way you lead your lives and in the way you build up your families and your communities.
Democracy can only flourish, as your founding fathers realized, when political leaders and those whom they represent are guided by truth and bring the wisdom born of firm moral principle to decisions affecting the life and future of the nation.

PRAYER
Time spent in prayer is never wasted, however urgent the duties that press upon us from every side. Adoration of Christ our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament prolongs and intensifies the union with him that is established through the Eucharistic celebration (see Sacramentum Caritatis, 66). Contemplation of the mysteries of the rosary releases all their saving power and it conforms, unites and consecrates us to Jesus Christ (see Rosarium Virginis Mariae, 11,15).
Prayer itself, born in Catholic families, nurtured by programs of Christian formation, strengthened by the grace of the sacraments, is the first means by which we come to know the Lord’s will for our lives. To the extent that we teach young people to pray, and to pray well, we will be cooperating with God’s call.
What matters most is that you develop your relationship with God. That relationship is expressed in prayer. God by his very nature speaks, hears, and replies. Indeed, St. Paul reminds us: We can and should “pray constantly”. 1 Thes 5:17
Have we perhaps lost something of the art of listening Do you leave space to hear God’s whisper, calling you forth into goodness? Friends, do not be afraid of silence or stillness. Listen to God, adore him in the Eucharist. Let his word shape your journey as an unfolding of holiness.

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