Q’s from the Pews: How can I be friends with God?

Pope Leo began his “catechesis on Vatican Council II,” on January 14 by reminding us that friendship is exactly what God wants. “No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you” (Jn 15:15).

Leo quotes Dei Verbum’s central theme- God revealed himself to us so we can become his friends. The incarnation of Jesus “possesses a revelatory dimension that creates a relationship” through which “God invites us into friendship with Him.” Friends know each other through spending time with each other, especially in conversation.

Leo notes that through prayer we foster and grow our relationship. In Liturgical prayer we come together to listen to God. Then “in personal prayer” we speak to God “in the interiority of our heart and mind.” Pope Leo asks us to “respond wholeheartedly to the Lord’s invitation” of friendship and communicate more with Him in prayer. Our Lenten Faith Study will be doing exactly this: learning how to deepen our prayer life. Please look in the bulletin or on the website for details.