IMAGE: CNS photo/Giorgio Onorati, EPA
By Junno Arocho Esteves
VATICAN
CITY (CNS) — To complain to God in moments of doubt and fear like Abraham did is not something bad but
rather is a form of
prayer that requires the courage to hope beyond all hope, Pope Francis said.
While
in life there may be times of frustration and darkness, “hope is still
there and it moves us forward,” the pope said Dec. 28 during his weekly general
audience.
“I
won’t say that Abraham loses patience, but he complains to the Lord. This is
what we learn from our father Abraham: complaining to the Lord is a form of
prayer. Sometimes I hear confessions where people say, ‘I complained to the
Lord.’ But no. (Continue)
to complain; he is a father and this is a form of prayer. Complain to the Lord,
this is good,” he said.
Entering
the Paul VI audience hall,
the pope greeted thousands of pilgrims from all over the world. Among those
present was a group
of performers from Italy’s Golden Circus, who performed several acrobatic feats
and entertaining performances at the end of the general audience.
The
pope even participated in one of the performances. As he and an illusionist
grabbed the ends of a tablecloth, they seemingly made a small nightstand
levitate to the amazement and applause of the pilgrims.
During
the audience, the pope continued his series of talks on Christian hope and
reflected on the life of Abraham who, along with his wife, Sarah, left his homeland
with hope in God’s
promise of a son.
This
hope, he said, gave Abraham the ability to “go beyond human reason, and
worldly wisdom and prudence” to believe in the impossible.
“Hope
opens new horizons; it makes us able to dream that which isn’t imaginable. Hope
makes us enter into the darkness of an uncertain future to walk in the
light,” the pope said.
However,
this path is not without its difficulties, even for Abraham, who, after months
of travel, began to doubt
God’s promise of a son borne by his wife, Sarah.
It
is in this moment, the pope said, that Abraham prays to God in the dark of
night, a darkness that mirrored his “disappointment, discouragement and
the difficulty of continuing to hope in something impossible.”
Faith
is not just silent acceptance or a “certainty that secures us from doubt
and perplexity,” but it also means “to argue with God and show him
our bitterness without ‘pious pretenses.'”
“‘I
became angry with God, I told him this, this, and that.’ But he is a father and
he understands you; go in peace. You must have this courage. This is
hope,” the pope said.
It
is in the darkness of night and in the darkness of his own doubts that Abraham
once again receives, believes and hopes in God’s promise of descendants as
numerous as the stars, Pope Francis said.
“To
believe, it is necessary to know how to see with the eyes of faith; we all may
(look up and) only see stars, but for Abraham, they become a sign of God’s
faithfulness,” the pope said. “Hope never disappoints.”
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