"Christian prayer, like all Christian life, is not a 'walk in the park,'" acknowledges Pope Francis. "None of the great people of prayer we meet in the Bible and in the history of the Church found prayer 'comfortable.'"
"Prayer certainly gives great peace," the pope said, as he continued his teaching series on prayer, but that peace comes with "inner struggle" that at times can be "hard" and which can last for long periods.
The pope noted how we naturally flee from prayer because it "is not something easy."
Every time we want to pray, we are immediately reminded of many other activities, which at that moment seem more important and more urgent. This happens to me too! It happens to me. I go to pray a little… and no, I must do this and that… We flee from prayer, I don’t know why, but that is how it is.
But then, he said, "almost always, after putting off prayer, we realize that those things were not essential at all, and that we may have wasted time."
Why does that happen?
Because, "This is how the Enemy deceives us."
"All Godly men and women report not only the joy of prayer, but also the tediousness and fatigue it can bring: at times it is a difficult struggle to keep to the time and ways of praying," the pope said.
The pope noted how the Catechism lists various obstacles of prayer, including the idea that "prayer is a merely psychological operation; something that may be useful, but is neither true nor necessary."
But, he said, "the worst enemies of prayer are found within us. The Catechism describes them thus:
"This is clearly a summary that could be extended," the pope observed.
Pope Francis went on to note two spiritual masters who speak of prayer in terms of combat and battle.
St. Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the pope's own spiritual family, makes us see that "Christian vocation is militancy, it is the decision to stand beneath the standard of Jesus Christ and not under that of the devil, trying to do good even when it becomes difficult."
And St. Anthony of Egypt, when he suffered a crisis at age 35, after regaining serenity, "he turned to his Lord with an almost reproachful tone: 'But Lord, where were you? Why did you not come immediately to put an end to my suffering?' And Jesus answered: 'Anthony, I was there. But I was waiting to see you fight' (Life of Anthony, 10)."
"Fighting in prayer. And very often, prayer is combat," the pope said.
The Holy Father went on to tell the story of a miracle he witnessed firsthand, when he was in Buenos Aires.
And when God doesn't grant us a grace, the pope said, "He will grant us another which in time we will see. But always, combat in prayer to ask for grace. Yes, at times we ask for grace we are not in need of, but we ask for it without truly wanting it, without fighting… We do not ask for serious things in this way. Prayer is combat, and the Lord is always with us.
