Faith Filled Friday: Pope Benedict's Last Public Prayer

Hat tip to Rebecca Hamilton who blogs at Public Catholic.  She posted our beloved Papa's last general audience message from Wednesday, and you can read the entire message there, but in it was a beautiful little prayer.  The prayer is within this most meaningful passage which I'll quote in its entirety, toward the end and is only two sentences: "I adore you, my God and I love you with all my heart.  Thank you for having created me, for having me made Christian." 




“We are in the Year of Faith, which I desired precisely in order to strengthen our faith in God in a context that seems to relegate it more and more to the background. I would like to invite everyone to renew their firm trust in the Lord, to entrust ourselves like children to God’s arms, certain that those arms always hold us up and are what allow us to walk forward each day, even when it is a struggle. I would like everyone to feel beloved of that God who gave His Son for us and who has shown us His boundless love. I would like everyone to feel the joy of being Christian. In a beautiful prayer, which can be recited every morning, say: ‘I adore you, my God and I love you with all my heart. Thank you for having created me, for having made me Christian…’ Yes, we are happy for the gift of faith. It is the most precious thing, which no one can take from us! Let us thank the Lord for this every day, with prayer and with a coherent Christian life. God loves us, but awaits us to also love Him!”



Here's something else that's interesting.  Hat tip on this to Lisa Hendey who blogs at A Good Measure.  If you wish to support the Cardinals in the coming conclave in selecting the next Pope, you can actually adopt a Cardinal and pray for his wisdom.  My selection turned out to be Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz of Krakow, Poland.  The message I received in my email was the following:

You have adopted this Cardinal:

Stanislaw Dziwisz, from Poland, born 27.4.1939.
He's been a Cardinal since 24.3.2006 and his function is: Archbishop of Krakow, Poland

May the prayer for your Cardinal be deeply blessed.

May the Holy Spirit grant His Eminence, Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz extraordinary wisdom in these coming weeks.  Lord, your Church is in need here.  Indeed, the world is in need of moral leadership.  Of all these good men, may the person who is best suited for these times be selected through your will acting through the hearts and minds of these good men, especially through Cardinal Stan.