“There is only one great call in the Gospel, and it is that of following Jesus on the way of love,” Pope Francis said in his weekly Wednesday audience. “In this sense, charity and contemplation are synonymous.”

In the present tragic situation, when the whole world is prey to suffering and anxiety, we fly to you, Mother of God and our Mother, and seek refuge under your protection.

The methods of meditation are paths to travel to arrive at the encounter with Jesus, but if you stop on the road, you will make a “god” out of the path.

The prayer of the heart is mysterious, and at certain times it is lacking. Instead, the prayer of the lips that which is whispered or recited chorally is always accessible.

If prayer ceases, the Church has become like an empty shell that it has lost its bearings.

Pope Francis reflects on the connection between prayer and the communion of saints in his weekly Wednesday audience.