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(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Wednesday said “prayer is not a magic wand.” He was speaking during his weekly General Audience in St. Peter’s Square.

The Pope was discussing the Parable of the Unjust Judge – also known as the Parable of the Persistent Widow – from the Gospel of Luke.

In the parable, the persistence of a widow forces the unjust judge to grant her request for justice, “so that she will not eventually wear [him] out.” (Lk 18: 1-8).

“Widows, together with orphans and foreigners, were the most vulnerable groups of society” – Pope Francis said – “The rights secured to them by the Law could be easily trampled upon because, being alone and helpless, it was difficult from them to avail themselves: A poor widow, there, alone, no one to defend her, she could be ignored, even denied justice; thus also with the orphan, the foreigner, the migrant…at that time this was a very great problem.”

The Holy Father said the widow in the parable used the only weapon she had: Her persistence is presenting her request for justice, “and this persistence achieved its goal.”

Pope Francis said if the widow can bend the will of the Unjust Judge, then God, who is “a good and just Father,” will “do justice to those who cry out to him day and night.”

“All of us experience moments of fatigue and discouragement, especially when our prayers seem ineffective,” Pope Francis said.

“But Jesus assures us: unlike the unjust judge, God promptly answers promptly his children, although this does not mean he does it in the time and manner that we would like. Prayer is not a magic wand!” – continued the Pope – “It helps to preserve our faith in God, and to trust in Him even when we do not comprehend His will. In this, Jesus himself - who prayed so much! – is the example.”

Pope Francis gives the example of Our Lord’s prayer at Gethsemane, where he prayed for the Father to “deliver him from the bitter cup of the passion.”

“But his prayer is permeated by faith in the Father, and trusts without restraint in His will: But – says Jesus – not as I will, but as you will,” Pope Francis explained.

“The goal of the prayer is of secondary importance; what matters above all is the relationship with the Father,” – the Pope continued – “This is what makes the prayer transform the desire and shape it according to the will of God, whatever it may be, because the person who prays first of all aspires to union with God, who is Merciful Love.”

Pope Francis concluded his catechesis by mentioning the parable ends with a question: When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?

“And with this question we are all warned: we must not desist from prayer, even if it is not answered,” the Pope said. “And it is the prayer which keeps the faith, without this, the faith wavers”

“We ask the Lord for a faith which becomes unceasing prayer, persevering, like that of the widow in the parable, a faith that is nourished by the desire of his arrival. And in this prayer we experience the compassion of God, like a Father who comes to meet his children full of merciful love.”

After his catechesis, Pope Francis prayed for the victims of terrorist attacks that took place in Syria on Monday, and also made an appeal for International Missing Children’s Day.

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(Vatican Radio) The Vatican on Wednesday announced the resignation of two members of the Board of Superintendence of the the Istituto per le Opere di Religione (IOR), commonly called the Vatican Bank.

The two members, Clemens Börsig and Carlo Salvatori, left the Board after the recent approval and publication of the IOR’s Annual Report.

A statement from the Holy See Press Office said the decision “can be seen in light of legitimate reflections and opinions concerning the management of an Institute  whose nature and purpose are as particular as those of the IOR.”

“The two board members made a competent and qualified contribution in this important phase for the stability and integrity of the Institute, and its conformity not only to internal Vatican regulations, but also obligations taken by the Holy See on a European level,” – the statement reads – “The President of the Cardinals’ Commission thanked the two members of the board, and  accepted the resignations. A phase now begins, fully respecting the procedures in place, to find and evaluate new candidates suitable to fill the positions on the Board of Superintendence.”

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(Vatican Radio) The Vatican on Wednesday confirmed a criminal investigation is under way in the fraud case involving the Italian construction magnate, Angelo Proietti.

He has been suspected of aggravated fraud due to activities involving Edil Ars Srl, a building and art renovation contractor.

The company was involved in work for several Italian government and Vatican departments.

A statement from the Holy See Press Office said the “competent Authorities of the Holy See and the Vatican City State initiated the investigation established by the Vatican legislation in 2013, taking action on the basis of Suspicious Transaction Reports relating to Mr. Proietti, seizing all the relevant financial resources.”

The statement also confirmed that since the start of the investigation the “competent Authorities of the Holy See and the Vatican City State requested the cooperation and exchanged information with the competent Italian Authorities, as  required by the respective legislation and the Memoranda of Understanding in force.”

A criminal investigation is also currently going on in the Vatican City State, and the statement says “the competent Authorities are assessing the existence of potential offences against entities of the Holy See and the Vatican City State.”

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(Vatican Radio) The Holy See has made an intervention at the 69th World Health Assembly taking place in Geneva. The full intervention can be found below.

Intervention of the Holy See Delegation to the 69^th World Health Assembly

23-28 May 2016, Geneva, Switzerland

Mr President,

1. My delegation, in conjunction with other delegations, wishes to commend the Secretariat for the Report on Health in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (WHA69/15),  which among others underscores the commitment to an integrated multi-sectorial approach  in which health is not only one of the several goals that are interlinked, but influences and is influenced by other goals and targets as an integral part of the sustainable development.

The implementation of the ambitious 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development with its 17 Goals and 169 associated targets will ensure the promotion of an economically, socially and environmentally viable future for our planet and for present and future generations. The Holy See delegation welcomes the vital emphasis on the dignity of the human person and the strong focus on equity expressed in the pledge that “no one will be left behind.” ^[1] This in terms of health is expressed in goal 3 to “Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages,” which has 13 targets that are underpinned by universal coverage as the key to the achievement of all the others (WHA69/15 par. 25).

2. According to the UN Declaration (UN Res/70/1 par. 5) Sustainable development goals are “integrated and indivisible” in that progress in one area is dependent on progress in many others, they are also “global in nature and universally applicable “as they seek to be relevant to all countries.

One of the key challenges for the new Agenda is translating this basic principle of being “integrated and indivisible” into practical action, this is more critical where the synergies are less direct, like the link between climate change and the spread of vectors-borne diseases. With regard to action to combat climate change and its impacts on health, my delegation wishes to underscore the need for more political will and strong commitment from civil societies in order to reach truly meaningful and effective global agreements on the environment. Often times, international negotiations cannot make significant progress due to positions taken by countries which place their national interests above the global common good.

Pope Francis in his recent encyclical letter Laudato Sì, on Care for Our Common Home, called for the need to think of a one world with a common plan.  He notes that “an interdependent world …motivates us to ensure that solutions are proposed from a global perspective, and not simply to defend the interests of a few countries… A global consensus is essential for confronting the deeper problems, which cannot be resolved by unilateral actions on the part of individual countries. Such a consensus could lead, for example, to planning a sustainable and diversified agriculture, developing renewable and less polluting forms of energy, encouraging a more efficient use of energy, promoting a better management of marine and forest resources, and ensuring universal access to drinking water.”^[2]

3. Finally, Mr President, in pursuit of the targets carried forward from the unfinished Agenda, the Holy See would like to reiterate the commitment of Catholic Health Care institutions to continue efforts to end the epidemics of AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and neglected tropical disease and combat other communicable diseases.  With regard to the later, the Pontifical Council for Health Care Workers together with the Nippon Foundation have organized a Symposium around the theme “Towards Holistic Care for People with Hansen’s Disease, Respectful of their Dignity,” to take place in Rome this coming 9-10 June, with the purpose of addressing the triple challenge of reducing the disease burden, helping the sick and their families and integrating them into society. The Symposium is organized with the collaboration of the Raoul Follereau Foundation, the Sovereign Order of Malta and the Sasakawa Memorial Health Foundation.

Later this year on November 10-12, the Pontifical Council for Health Care Workers will celebrate its 31^st International Conference addressing the issue of Rare Diseases and Neglected Tropical Diseases, which will draw experts and participants from over 60 countries to discourse the problem of unattended diseases, especially those affecting the most vulnerable. You are all invited to offer your valuable contribution towards this initiative.

Thank you, Mr. President, and God bless you all.

                                                                       Msgr. Jean-Marie Mupendawatu

                                                           Head of the Delegation of the Holy See to

the 69th World Health Assembly

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(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis sent a video message on Wednesday to participants in the 100th Katholikentag, or Catholic Day, taking place in Leipzig, Germany, from May 25th to 29th. First organised in 1848, this popular festival brings together Catholics, as well as people of other religious traditions, in dialogue with political, cultural and business leaders.

Philippa Hitchen reports: 

Speaking in German, a language he learnt during his student days, Pope Francis greeted participants and praised the good relations between Christians of different denominations in Germany.

Noting the title of this 100th Katholikentag, ‘Ecce homo’, or ‘Behold, the man’, the Pope said this theme shows us that it’s not exterior success that counts in life, but rather the ability to stop, to look and to be attentive to the needs of others.

Peace with Creation

Every person, the Pope said, wishes to live in peace with others, but this will only happen if we foster peace in our own hearts. These days, he said, so many people are in a constant hurry and tend to trample on everything around them, including our own environment. Instead, he said, we must take time to restore harmony with the world, with creation and also with our Creator.

A voice for the oppressed

Through contemplation and prayer, the Pope said, we can draw closer to God and see that as he shows love and mercy to us, so we are called to be merciful to each other. So often, he noted, we see people ill-treated and deprived of their dignity – the elderly, the sick, the unemployed and the refugees. Pope Francis concluded his message with a blessing for participants, urging them to find more time in their lives to give a voice to the poor and the oppressed.

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Vatican City, May 25, 2016 / 06:56 am (CNA/EWTN News).- For Pope Francis, prayer is neither a “magic wand” used to get what we want nor something casual we do only when we feel like it, but is rather the strength that sustains our faith in difficult moments.

“Jesus says that we need ‘to pray always, without growing tired,’” the Pope said May 25. What that means is that “it’s not just praying sometimes, when I feel like it. No.”

“Everyone experiences moments of fatigue and discouragement, especially when it seems like our prayer seems ineffective,” he said, but assured that “God answers his children promptly, even if it means he does it in times and ways other than what we would like.”

Francis spoke to pilgrims gathered in a sunny St. Peter’s Square for his Wednesday general audience. He continued his catechesis on mercy as understood in scripture, focusing on the parable of the unjust judge from the Gospel of Luke.

The parable recounts how a dishonest, indifferent judge is swayed by the constant requests of a widow, who insistently pleads for justice. In the end, the judge concedes due to the widow’s frequent appeals.

In his speech, the Pope noted now the judge in the parable represents a “powerful persona” responsible for passing judgement according to the Law of Moses.

Because of this, “biblical tradition recommended that judges were God-fearing people, trustworthy, impartial and incorruptible,” Francis said, adding in an off-the-cuff comment that “it would do good to listen to this even today!”

However, he noted how instead, the judge in the parable neither feared God nor respected other people. “He was an unjust judge, without scruples, who didn’t take the law into account but did whatever he wanted, according to his own interests,” the Pope observed.

The widow, on the other hand, was considered to be among the weakest class in society, along with orphans and foreigners.

“A poor widow by herself could have been ignored and left without justice, like the orphan, the foreigner, the migrant,” yet when confronted with the indifference of the judge, “the widow resorts to her only weapon: continuing insistently to bother him by presenter her request for justice,” he said.

Pope Francis noted that it was precisely because of the widow’s perseverance that she achieved her goal in the end. Even the judge admits that he grants her justice “so that she doesn’t constantly come to pester me,” rather than out of genuine mercy.

The Pope stressed that if the widow was able to bend the unjust judge with her “insistent demands,” then “how much more will God, who is a good and just father, ‘make justice for his elect who cry out to him day and night.’”

It is because of this that Jesus urges us to pray “without growing tired,” he said, explaining that “prayer is not a magic wand” we wave to get what we want when we want.

Rather, prayer “helps us to keep faith in God and to entrust ourselves to him even when we don’t understand his will,” Francis said, and pointed to Jesus as a prime example.

He referred to the passage in St. Paul’s letter to the Hebrews in which the apostle noted how during Jesus’ earthly life, “he offered prayer and supplication, with loud cries and tears, to God who could save him from death and, because of his full abandonment to (the Father), was heard.”

St. Paul didn’t make a mistake on this point, the Pope said, noting that God really did save Jesus from death by giving him full victory over it, “but the path taken to get to it was through death itself!”

The same goes for Jesus’ prayer in Gethsemane, when Jesus, “assaulted by looming anguish,” prays to his Father to deliver him from the “chalice” of his Passion. However, even though Jesus asks for delivery, his prayer “is pervaded by confidence in the Father and he entrusts himself to his (Father’s) will without reserve.”

“The object of prayer passes into second place; what is most important above all is his relationship with the Father,” Francis said, and explained that what prayer does is transform one’s desire and “models it according to the will of God, whatever it is, so that whoever prays aspires first of all to union with Him.”

Pope Francis concluded his address by pointing to Jesus’ question at the end of the parable: “But the Son of Man, when he comes, will he find faith on earth?”

With this question “we are all put on guard,” he said, and stressed that we must never cease praying, even if it doesn’t always “pay out” the way we want.

“It’s prayer that preserves faith; without it faith falters!” he said, and prayed for the Lord to grant all “a faith which becomes an unceasing prayer, perseverant, like that of the widow in the parable, a faith nourished by the desire for his coming.”

After concluding his address the Pope offered a special appeal to protect children in honor of International Missing Children’s Day, which was established by U.S. President Ronald Regan in 1983, four years after 6-year-old Etan Patz disappeared in New York City. Since then it has been celebrated internationally every year on May 25.

“It is a duty of everyone to protect children, especially those exposed to elevated risk of exploitation, trafficking and deviant conduct,” Francis said, and voiced his hope that both civil and religious authorities “might stir consciences and raise awareness, in order to avoid indifference.”

He also offered prayers for the more than 160 people killed Monday in coordinated attacks on the cities of Jableh and Tartus in Syria.

“I exhort everyone to pray to the merciful Father, to pray to the Madonna, that God might give eternal rest to the victims, and consolation to their families…and might convert the hearts of those who sow death and destruction,” the Pope said, and led pilgrims in praying a Hail Mary.

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By Carol Glatz

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Prayer is not a magic wand that fulfills your desires, but it is what helps you keep the faith when you don't understand God's will, Pope Francis said.

Prayer is meant to be "our daily bread, our powerful weapon and the staff for our journey," he said May 25 during his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square.

In his catechesis, the pope talked about the Gospel parable of the persistent widow, who incessantly appealed to a corrupt judge for justice.

Judges at the time were supposed to be filled with the fear of God as they impartially and faithfully upheld the laws of Moses, the pope said. But the judge in this parable was dishonest and only cared about himself. He had no interest in protecting the rights of the weakest and easily exploited members of society, which included widows, orphans and foreigners, he said.

"Faced with the judge's indifference, the widow resorted to her only weapon -- to keep incessantly pestering him, presenting him with her appeal for justice," the pope said.

The judge finally gives in, he said, "not because he is moved by mercy or because his conscience forces him to," but because of her perseverance. He realizes he will never rid himself of her until he delivers a just decision, and so he does, the pope said.

He said Jesus uses this parable to show that if a widow with no clout or influence could sway an uncaring judge merely through her patient and persistent pleas, then imagine how powerful that same force of prayer is when directed toward a loving, merciful and benevolent God.

Jesus is showing how important and necessary it is to pray tirelessly, all the time and not just every now and then, "when I feel like it," the pope said.

"We all experience moments of exhaustion and discouragement, above all when our prayers don't seem to work," he said.

Contrary to the stubborn judge, he said, God speedily secures "the rights of his chosen ones who call out to him day and night," according to the Gospel of St. Luke (18:1-8).

But that doesn't mean God will respond when "and in the ways that we want. Prayer is not a magic wand," the pope said.

When Jesus prayed that his father spare him from "the bitter cup of his passion," he also put himself fully in God's hands, asking that the father's will -- not his own -- be done.

Jesus shows how prayer is about strengthening one's relationship with the father -- transforming one's own wishes and conforming them to God's will, he said.

Prayer "helps us keep our faith in God and to trust him even when we do not understand his will."

"Prayer is what keeps the faith; without it, faith wavers," Pope Francis said. And it is in prayer that people experience the compassion of God who comes to his children "filled with merciful love."

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Follow Glatz on Twitter: @CarolGlatz

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