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Good evening Father,

I would like to know what Saint Paul refers to in Romans 8:26-27.

I have heard these verses during Mass and they stroke me forcibly. Wherein does the Spirit intercede for us?

Thank you for the service you perform. I remember you in my prayers.

The priest’s answer

Dear friend,

  1. to the advantage of the visitors of our website, I will quote in full Saint Paul’s two verses: “in the same way, the Spirit too comes to the aid of our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit itself intercedes with inexpressible groanings. And the one who searches hearts knows what is the intention of the Spirit, because it intercedes for the holy ones according to God’s will” (Rm 8:26-27). 
  2. In his commentary to these verses, Saint Thomas points out that Saint Paul’s statements seem to be false, for we do know what we should ask for. As a matter of fact, Jesus taught us how to pray with the Lord’s prayer, which encompasses all the petitions we can present to Him. Likewise, it also seems that we know how to pray as we ought, since it says in James: let him ask in faith, with no doubting (Jas 1:6).
  3. However, although this is true in general, we do not know whether what we ask in a particular case is compliant to God’s will, since in the Book of Proverbs we read: “sometimes a way seems right to a man, but the end of it leads to death!” (Prov 14:12). Neither do we know if we are asking with the right dispositions; this is what happened, for instance, to the mother of the sons of Zebedee, whose petition, though good (cf. Matt 20:20), seemed to proceed from vainglory or from self-righteousness.
  4. Saint Thomas also observes that “intercession is the role of a lesser person” (Commentary on Romans 8:26). But the Holy Spirit is by no means inferior to the Father. “Consequently we must explain asks, i.e., makes us ask, as in Genesis: now I know that you fear God (Gen 22:12), i.e., I have made you know”. Actually, God knows everything in advance and asks questions only for us to acquire awareness. 
  5. The Holy Spirit makes us ask, inasmuch as He causes right desires in us. And right desires arise from love, or better still, from charity that operates in us.  As we sometimes suffer the delay of what we pray for to be granted,  Saint Paul adds with groanings. He says that they are unspeakable because either they concern the heavenly glory which we invoke or because, proceeding from the Spirit, they cannot be sufficiently described by our heart.
  6. The Jerusalem Bible comments briefly but beautifully on Rom 8:27: “Christian prayer has its source in the Spirit, and Paul […] guarantees its efficacy because of the presence of Christ’s Spirit that makes us pray as children, while Christ himself, sitting at the right hand of the Father, intercedes for us and His prayers are answered superabundantly”. (translator’s note: the official English translation of this passage is not available to me. This is just my own translation attempt. I apologize with the readers).

I thank you most warmly for remembering me in your prayers. I will gladly do the same for you and I bless you.

Father Angelo


Translated by Alessandra N