Do you fall asleep while praying? The pope just gave you the nod

For anyone who has ever nodded off during Mass, here’s your get-out-of-purgatory-free card: Pope Francis nods off when he’s praying, too.

And he says God is quite OK with it.

“When I pray, sometimes I fall asleep,” the 80-year-old pontiff said this week on the Italian TV station TV2000.

“Saint Teresina of the Baby Jesus also did so. She used to say that the Lord, God, the Father, likes it when somebody falls asleep.”

Saint Therese was a 19th century French nun.

The pope said falling asleep while praying pleases God. He quoted the Bible while talking about his sleep habits. According to the BBC he usually goes to bed around 9 p.m. and wakes up about 4 a.m.

Vatican sources say he takes a nap after lunch to get through his busy schedule.

“There is Psalm 129 … that says that I am before God like a child in the arms of his father,” the pope said.

“This is one of the many ways in which the name of God becomes sanctified — feeling like a child in his arms.”

Lots of people saw how comfortable he is in God’s arms when during his whirlwind, busy trip to the United States in 2015 he nodded off during his historic first Mass on U.S. soil.

American Catholics marveled.

That singular moment, Mashable noted at the time, instantly justified “church naps for millions of God-fearing Americans.

“His eyes closed, his head drooped, and there, on live TV, the humble pope proved once and for all he’s truly just like us.”

This story was originally published November 2, 2017 at 10:56 AM with the headline "Do you fall asleep while praying? The pope just gave you the nod."