Francis on the Prayer of “Ciao”

Here is the Instagram post from Pope Francis’s most recent Wednesday Audience, screen-to-screen pictures of the video in which the Pope spoke in Italian and subtitles were provided. In case they’re too small on your device, here is the text from this clip:

“Let us ask for this grace:

to live a relationship of friendship with the Lord,

as a friend speaks to a friend.

I knew an old religious brother 

who was

the doorman of a boarding school,

and every time he could, he would approach the chapel,

look at the altar, and say, ‘Hello,’ [“Ciao” in Italian]

because he was close to Jesus.

He didn’t need to say blah blah blah, no:

‘Hello,

I am close to you and you are close to me.’

This is the relationship we must have in prayer:

closeness, affective closeness

as brothers and sisters, closeness with Jesus.

A smile, a simple gesture,

and not reciting words that do not reach the heart.

As I said,

talk to Jesus as a friend talks to another friend.