Q: Dear Dan, I have been more involved in this papal election than any in my life, and I have been praying every day for the cardinals and the new pope. Now that we have a new pope, how can I keep this positive momentum? I am very excited for the future of the Church, and I know I should continue to pray for Pope Francis.
A: Dear Friend, thank you for doing your part in praying for our cardinals so seriously. Our prayers really do make a difference. The Holy Spirit is clearly at work within you, as the Church has always asked us to pray for and with our popes. These are exciting times!
One way you can keep your heart and prayers connected to our new pope is to stay abreast of monthly papal prayer intentions. These intentions are provided every year by the Holy See, and you can find them through EWTN here. We can offer these intentions any time we pray. When we do this, we unite our hearts with the pope and millions of Catholics, through his prayers, for the needs of the world.
The most effective way to remember to offer these and other intentions is to integrate them as a normal part of our daily Rosary or other prayer routines. As we begin our normal prayers, we can offer an “Our Father” and a “Hail Mary” — and simply speak to the Lord saying, “For the intentions of the pope.”
Beyond praying with the pope for his intentions, we can also offer up our own special intentions for the needs we know he has, based on a common understanding of the challenges we face in the Church today. I outlined some of these in my post, “Lenten Intentions for the New Pope,” and they will likely remain on my list for the majority of the pontificate of Pope:
• That he has a profound relationship with Christ — and that he might emulate Christ in his prayer and leadership.
• That his love for Christ is so compelling that millions of the Lord’s stray children will return to the endless well of love and grace that God has for them in his Church.
• That he will have the courage and wisdom necessary to continue the implementation of the true intent of the second Vatican Council and the related “reform of the reform.”
• That he will successfully heal the schism that has plagued the Church for more than 1,000 years.
• That he will continue to inspire the youth of the world to bring about, through vocations and active lay participation in the mission of the Church, the continued fruit of the New Evangelization.
• That he will ignite the faith of Latinos around the world and especially in the United States.
I am grateful for your commitment to pray for Pope Francis. May your faithfulness and enthusiasm bear fruit for the needs of our Church!
To read more from Dan on the faithful Catholic spirituality, click here.
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am delighted to see that there fellow believers who really give in their all to pray for the church, may God bless you abundantly.
Dear Dan. Thank you for your suggestions on how to pray more effectively for the Holy Father’s intentions. I have always included the incumbent Pope’s intentions whenever I say my morning prayers and at the offering during the daily masses that I attend. But as you suggested, praying for his specific needs and the needs of the Church is indeed more effective than just saying “for the intentions of the Holy Father”. God bless you and your apostolate.
A Catholic friend reminds me the only way “revivals” have ever happened in the past is for leadership to dust off their Bibles, teaching its truths in fullness, and in context. She is correct.
Like Hezekiah and Josiah, the Holy Scripture was found in the Temple,
underneath debris. They dusted it off and verse-by-verse, read to the people what God wanted of them, and upon knowing, they obeyed Him.
For us today, it would mean pastors, priests, and bishops, Preaching and Teaching the entirety of the New Testament, including the letters written by St. Paul (whom my friend calls “the Persona non Grata” of the Catholic church).
Want God? Get parish priests all over the world teaching the New Testament, all of it, in verse-by-verse expository fashion. Exegisis only. Expose the truths to people in the pews. Start now. Pray for that, please. Then watch the revival. Watch people turn to Christ.
We thank the almighty God for giving us a new pope, i pray that God should him as he lead us to christ.
i will continue to remember you in my prayer,may God almighty strengthen you and empower you with the zeal of knowing what is Good and wrong may he give you peace of mind and protection,for the pope i pray to the Lord; lord hear our prayer
Good bless the pope
I wonder why ‘Internet Explorer’, has a warning about your website when I key in…...as you can see, I entered anyway, despite.
We serve the living God. God has been there for His holy church right from the begining of time. We thank Him for giving us the next Vicar of Christ in the person of Pope Francis. I believe what we owe the Holy father right is prayer, prayer and prayer, so that he may be able to discharge his duties according to the will of God.
A statement of faith:
I was raised So Baptist, so I know what evangelization means. Someone earlier said “dust off your Bible and teach the truth.” The truth is “Jesus Christ,” just as Pope Francis has reminded us. You can not teach Jesus Christ if you do NOT know him-personally. In the words of a old christian hymn, “Jesus is tenderly calling…...He will not turn you away.”
I was Christian before I became Catholic,and as a Catholic, I am more Christian because of the fullness/completeness of the faith based on 2000 years of history.
I am moved to start praying for the new pope and the pope emeritus and the college of cardinals owing to the prophecy of persecutionthat will confront Rome and her seat power.may God help them to stand on tje truth .I am sure the gate of hell cannot overcome the church of Christ.
Long live the Pope. May God grant you the wisdom to lead the church, amen.
Long live Pope Francis.
I pray that God in his infinity mercy will see poor childrens of Africa most country under war. May God answer intentions of our pope.
First I need to thank the Holy Spirit for choosing this humble bishop.
Dear Holy Father I do not know too much about you yet but I can you are the New Peter
Love you very much already
Dear Lord jesus Christ,
Our Pope is not born yesterday he already know what to do… just Guide his thoughts and spirit to do what is right & just in accordance to your divine will… Let your infallable teaching be our guide & let your unconditional love be in our hearts so that we will be with you in life everlasting in heaven… and be called rightfully your children…! with the prayers of the Blessed Virgin Mary we join our unending prayers & thanksgiving! Amen!
THE GRACE OF GOD THE FATHER BE WITH YOU ALL,GOD BEEN SO GOOD HE KNOWS HIS CHILDREN SO WELL AND HE KNOW WHOM WILL BE FIT TO THE SEAT OF ST.PETER.TO GOD BE THE GLORY FOREVER..FATHER INTO THY HANDS NOW IS YOUR CHURCH TO BE CLEANED AND WIPES AWAY ALL THAT IS NOT FIT TO BE CALLED YOUR SERVANT TO LEAD YOUR CHILDREN TO THE RIGHT PATH INTO YOUR KINGDOM WHICH YOU PREPARED FOR US ALL YOUR CHILDREN..GLORY TO YOU OH GOD,AND THANK YOU FOR ALL THESE GRACES AND ALWAYS BE WITH US TELL THE END OF TIME. THANK YOU TOO MAM MARY FOR YOUR PROTECTION ..THANK YOU HOLY SPIRIT TO WORK WITH IN US TO HAVE A POPE WORTHY TO BE CALLED YOUR CHILDREN GUARDIANS , GOD GIVE MORE STRENGTH ,COURAGE PERSEVERANCE AND HUMILITY ALWAYS BLESS OUR NEW POPE..AMEN
The Holy Spirit through Divine Intervention, gave the world a new bridge-builder. Our new Pontiff, by merely taking the name of FrancisI has already brought together Jesuits and Franciscans. I pray that He may continue this journey in the spirit of Love and Peace, and with our help unite again the “one Holy Catholic Apostolic Church”. Constantinople has held the fortress alone and it is only “with and because of Her” that Christianity will be able to reach Islam. Thanks be to God.
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