"For a Christian, then explained the Pope , praying does not mean escaping reality and its responsibilities, but taking on such responsibilities in the fullest way, while relying on the Lord’s faithful and inexhaustible love". For this reason, explained Benedict XVI, "the verification of the Transfiguration is paradoxically the agony of the Gethsemane". With the approach of the Passion, "Jesus would feel deadly anguish and would entrust Himself to God’s will; at that time, His prayer would be a pledge of salvation for all of us. Christ would actually beg the Heavenly Father to ‘release Him from death’ and, as the author of the letters to the Jews writes, ‘He was answered for His mercy’". Such answer, highlighted the Holy Father, "is proven by His Resurrection". Hence the Pope’s reminder: "Dear brothers and sisters, praying is not an accessory, an optional extra, but it is a matter of life or death. Only those who pray, that is, those who entrust themselves to God with filial love, can enter eternal life, which is God Himself". During this time of Lent, concluded Benedict XVI, "let’s ask Mary, a mistress of spiritual life, to teach us to pray as Her Son used to do, so that our life may be transformed by the light of His presence".
