Abbey-Roads2

The Holy Father’s Encyclical.

“Spe salvi” is surely a dense read, I skimmed through it, reading a few sections closely, but I intend to study the entire text more deeply later.  It will be appropriate for Advent, although going beyond that, it seems to me it is an exhortation urgently needed in our days which often appear hopeless to many.

I was impressed with what the Holy Father had to say regarding prayer, as it corresponded to an understanding of what my personal prayer ought to be. 

No longer alone…

No one lives alone. No one sins alone. No one is saved alone. The lives of others continually spill over into mine: in what I think, say, do and achieve. And conversely, my life spills over into that of others: for better and for worse. So my prayer for another is not something extraneous to that person, something external, not even after death. In the interconnectedness of Being, my gratitude to the other—my prayer for him—can play a small part in his purification. And for that there is no need to convert earthly time into God’s time: in the communion of souls simple terrestrial time is superseded. It is never too late to touch the heart of another, nor is it ever in vain. In this way we further clarify an important element of the Christian concept of hope. Our hope is always essentially also hope for others; only thus is it truly hope for me too.⁴⁰ As Christians we should never limit ourselves to asking: how can I save myself? We should also ask: what can I do in order that others may be saved and that for them too the star of hope may rise? Then I will have done my utmost for my own personal salvation as well. - Spe salvi