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WHO PRAYS IS SAVED IN CHINESE
from issue no. 12 - 2009

Something beautiful and pleasing to the Lord


The preface to the Chinese language edition of
Who prays is saved


by Aloysius Jin Luxian


The cover of the prayer booklet <BR><I>Who prays is saved</I> in Chinese

The cover of the prayer booklet
Who prays is saved in Chinese

“Who prays is not afraid, who prays is never alone, and who prays is saved”. Thus, last July, during the Wednesday general audience, Pope Benedict XVI repeated for the faithful present in St Peter’s Square and throughout the Church the words which also give the title to this little book, where the simplest prayers used by Christians over the centuries are collected.
For several years now, hundreds of thousands of Christians around the world have used this little book as a simple and concise vehicle for going ahead in the received faith. Now, with this edition in Chinese, many Catholics in China also will be able to draw benefit and comfort from this precious little gift in their everyday lives. There they will find the simple prayers with which to entrust in confidence and hope to Jesus, Mary and Saint Joseph and other saints their expectations, their requests to be comforted in distress and taken in arms in times of trial. They will also find there the words with which to say ‘thank you’ for large and small gifts received and a help to confessing their sins well and thus receive the forgiveness of the Lord.
The simple repetition of these prayers in the fabric of the days will also be a sign of sincere and intimate communion with the Church of Rome, founded on the martyrdom of the apostles Peter and Paul. By drawing from the same source of grace, sharing the same sacraments and the same prayers, the communion of all the children of the Church in the faith of the Apostles is made to flourish in the world. For this reason, in ancient times, communion with the Church of Rome was also expressed and confirmed by the fact of sharing the same formulas of prayer.
I am sure that many of my countrymen will be happy and will know how to take advantage of such a simple and beautiful gift. Many times, throughout history, the Catholics in China have experienced the gentle, unarmed power of these simple prayers and devotions. It happened to many of today’s adults, beginning with us older ones: in the tribulations of the world, the Lord has kept them in the promise of His salvation thanks to the treasury of prayers learned as children, that anyone can repeat always, no matter what circumstances they find themselves in.
I hope that now, in the company of this little book, many young people of China today may have the fortune to taste the life of grace described by Saint Paul in his First Epistle to Timothy, that Pope Benedict also mentioned in his Letter to Chinese Catholics: “I urge then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgiving should be offered for everyone, for kings and others in authority, so that we may be able to lead peaceful and quiet lives, with all devotion and propriety. To do this is right, and acceptable to God our Saviour; he wants everyone to be saved and reach full knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim 2, 1-4).


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