Pope Benedict Ferverinos from US Visit - Part X

From remarks made to US Bishops

"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 (cf. 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 (cf. Rosarium Virginis Mariae, 11, 15). Fidelity to the Liturgy of the Hours ensures that the whole of our day is sanctified and it continually reminds us of the need to remain focused on doing God’s work, however many pressures and distractions may arise from the task at hand. Thus our devotion helps us to speak and act in persona Christi, to teach, govern and sanctify the faithful in the name of Jesus, to bring his reconciliation, his healing and his love to all his beloved brothers and sisters. This radical configuration to Christ, the Good Shepherd, lies at the heart of our pastoral ministry, and if we open ourselves through prayer to the power of the Spirit, he will give us the gifts we need to carry out our daunting task, so that we need never “be anxious how to speak or what to say” (Mt 10:19)."

The Holy Father reminds his bishops wisely and simply that time spent in prayer is priceless. The main thing that radically configures a person to Christ is this willing sacrifice of time and energy that could be spent elsewhere, even doing good, so that a bishop or priest is never confused as to whether it is He or the Lord that is acting. Prayer eliminates this confusion, and attributes all actions to Christ. Prayer keeps us focused not on our own achievement, however important, but on the gifts that God wants to bestow. Without prayer, in vain is our earlier rising, and in vain is our later going to rest (Ps 127). The pope suggests that anxiety is a sign of a lack of prayer, and trust in the work of God. The pope proposes Mass, Eucharistic Adoration, the Rosary and the Liturgy of the Hourse not as a checklist, but as a minimum of prayer that is justly expected of a priest, to aid His interior dedication to Christ the High Priest.