As Jesus prayed for Peter, so he prays for all of us, explains Pope Francis
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Pope Francis considered Jesus’ role as intercessor in his morning Mass of April 23, saying that our awareness of Christ’s prayer for us before the Father should lead us to have more confidence.
He drew this lesson from the great change that Peter experienced: going from the disciple who betrayed his Lord to the bold disciple who preached him before the Sanhedrin, up to the point of martyrdom.
And what Jesus did with Peter, he does with all of us. Jesus prays for us. He prays before the Father. We are used to praying to Jesus so that he gives us this grace and this other grace, to help us. But we are not used to contemplating Jesus, who shows his wounds to the Father: Jesus, the intercessor; Jesus who prays for us. And Peter could go from being a coward to being courageous with the gift of the Holy Spirit thanks to the prayer of Jesus.
Let us think of this a bit. Let us speak to Jesus, thanking Him for praying for us. Jesus prays for each of us. Jesus is the intercessor. Jesus wanted to bring his wounds with him so that the Father could see them. They are the price of our salvation. We should be more confident — more than in our prayers, in the prayer of Jesus. “Lord, pray for me.” … “But I am God; I can give to you … ” “Yes, but pray for me, because you are the Intercessor.” And this is the secret of Peter. “Peter, I will pray for you that your faith will not fail.” (cf Luke 22:32)
The Holy Father’s Mass intention was for families without work, unable to put food on the table, and for the conversion of those who are taking advantage of their neediness for their own gain.
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