PRAYERS FOR THE POPE

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Were you watching in suspense as the recent Papal conclave concluded and the white smoke emerged from the Sistine Chapel chimney at the Vatican? Prayers for the pope help us to remember the importance of praying for him as he prays for us!

In our prayers for the pope, such as this one below, we can ask our Heavenly Father to help guide our new Holy Father Pope Leo XIV to be a worthy Vicar of Christ (His “representative”) as he tends to the spiritual needs of over one billion Catholics worldwide.

O God, the Shepherd and Ruler of all Your faithful people, mercifully look upon Your servant [name of Pope, in this case Leo XIV], whom You have chosen as the chief Shepherd to preside over Your Church. We beg You to help him edify, both by word and example, those over whom he has charge, that he may reach everlasting life together with the flock entrusted to him. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

This prayer ties in nicely with the Gospels. Just as our Lord called St. Peter the rock on which He would build His Church (Matt 16:18-19) so too did he instruct him before His ascension into Heaven to “feed my sheep” (John 21:17).

Jesus chose Peter to be in charge of His flock, His Church. According to scripture and Church history, as documented in part here, our Holy Father is indeed the successor to St. Peter!

As such, the pope must guide the Catholic Church in conformity with what is called the magisterium. This is the teaching authority of our faith, as handed down to us from our Lord and His Apostles to the Early Church Fathers, and to other theologians and religious as well over the centuries.

In light of our new Holy Father's awesome responsibilities as an administrator, teacher, and ambassador for our faith worldwide, the following two prayers for the pope seem most appropriate.

Almighty and Everlasting God, have mercy on Your servant [name of Pope], our Supreme Pontiff, and direct him, according to Your loving kindness, in the way of eternal salvation, that with Your help he may ever desire that which is pleasing to You and accomplish it with all his strength. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Lord Jesus, shelter our Holy Father the Pope under the protection of Your Sacred Heart. Be his light, his strength and his consolation.

Speaking of strength, didn’t Christ remind us in the Gospels that we are to love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength and to love our neighbor as ourselves (Mark 12:30-31; Luke 10:27)? Pray that Pope Leo XIV will have, and exude as much as possible, that level of holiness!

There was a definite sense of uneasiness under Pope Francis from those within Traditional Catholic circles about his pontificate. He suppressed the Traditional Latin Mass, as well some religious contemplative orders, and showed an ambivalence over 6th commandment issues, and a certain uneasiness towards traditional pre-Vatican II Catholicism.

From all of this the former pontiff, as a chief shepherd, created an atmosphere of confusion and disarray at times among some of the sheep of our Lord’s flock!

Thus, this is an especially good time to pray for our new Holy Father, that while wishing to reach out to the poor, the marginalized, and those otherwise alienated from and in our faith, he is able nonetheless to reinforce the magisterium as it has been handed down to us over Catholicism's almost 2000 year History.

In seeking to be more “inclusive” the barque of Peter has seemed at times over the past few years to be rudderless in an increasingly misguided, chaotic, and even threateningly technocratic, transhumanist secular world.

Speaking of sailing through choppy and even storm tossed waters, in the homily at his first Mass as our Holy Father as transcribed by Life Site News, Pope Leo seemed to sense the enormity of the task of having the church raise up those who are bowed down (Psalm 145:14) to the beauty, majesty, and even the necessity of following our apostolic faith established by Christ himself some two millennia ago.

He said that: “In a particular way, God has called me by your election to succeed the Prince of the Apostles, [St. Peter] and has entrusted this treasure to me so that, with His help, I may be its faithful administrator (cf. 1 Cor 4:2) for the sake of the entire mystical Body of the Church. He has done so in order that she may be ever more fully a city set on a hill (cf. Rev 21:10), an ark of salvation sailing through the waters of history and a beacon that illuminates the dark nights of this world...For we are the people whom God has chosen as His own, so that we may declare the wonderful deeds of Him who called us out of darkness into His marvellous light (cf. 1 Pet 2:9).”

Now more than ever let us all pray that Pope Leo will be able to inspire more Holiness in all of us, both clergy and laity alike!

Note also that in addition to these prayers above, it is always good to pray for our Holy Father’s intentions during a morning offering or perhaps during the Rosary. (The Apostleship of Prayer lists his intentions for each month on their website.)

In all our prayers for the pope, let us pray that the Holy Spirit gives him the guidance he needs as he tends to his flock, our Church! Pope Francis will certainly need it in these turbulent times for the Church and the world!

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