Pope Leo urges the faithful to restore prayer to center of daily life
The Holy Father connected the recovery of authentic prayer with the Church’s liturgical life, showing how the Eucharist and daily Liturgy of the Hours draw Catholics into deeper communion with Christ.
During his papal audience in St. Peter’s Square Aug. 5, Pope Leo XIV urged the faithful to restore prayer to the center of their lives, describing it as a “fundamental dimension of our humanity” amid the pressures of modern culture.
His reflection continued his catechesis on the Second Vatican Council’s Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, Sacrosanctum Concilium, focusing on the prayer of the Church.
“In our time, in contexts dominated by an efficiency-driven and consumerist mindset, prayer may seem pointless and trivial,” Pope Leo said. “In a world where science and technology claim to provide all the answers, praying may appear to be a form of escapism.”
With many Christian families no longer passing down a tradition of prayer, the Holy Father said, prayer can also be mistaken for “just another technique, of a psychological nature.”
Pope Leo said Sacrosanctum Concilium responded to the need to recover the true meaning of prayer, recalling Pope St. Paul VI’s words when the constitution was promulgated.
“God comes first; prayer is our primary duty,” Pope Leo said, quoting the late pontiff. “The liturgy is the primary source of the divine life communicated to us, the primary school of our spiritual life.”
The Pope explained that the council’s understanding of the liturgy as prayer guided its reform and placed the active participation of the faithful at its core.
“The liturgy is presented first and foremost as the place of encounter, of God’s initiative in drawing near to humanity in his Son,” Pope Leo said, adding that the faithful respond “through Christ, with Christ and in Christ, in the unity of the Holy Spirit.”
>> EXCLUSIVE | Ascension CEO on historic new Liturgy of the Hours edition <<
Pope Leo then encouraged Catholics to embrace the Liturgy of the Hours more fully, emphasizing that “each Hour is an act of hope.”
“Every week and every day,” Pope Leo said, “the Eucharist and the Liturgy of the Hours are the breath of the life of the Church, which makes the Holy Spirit circulate through her Body.”
The Holy Father concluded by encouraging the faithful to let the Church’s prayer shape the rhythm of each day.
“Bound to the Eucharist, whose light it prolongs, the Liturgy of the Hours sanctifies the time of our daily lives,” Pope Leo said. “In the morning, we begin the day with faith and gratitude; at midday, we ask for the strength to remain faithful amidst our labours; in the evening, once our work is done, Vespers accompany the moment of sunset; at night, we fall asleep entrusting ourselves to God’s peace.”
