3rd Sunday of Easter
10 April 2005
Praised be Jesus Christ! Now and forever!
Dear Friends in Christ,
A child born after the election to the papacy of John Paul the Great is now old enough to be graduating this spring from medical school. This third longest pontificate in 2,000 years has changed the Church in ways beyond counting, and one of them is this: Of the 117 Cardinals who will vote for the next Pope, only three have ever before participated in a Conclave. This means that the men who must make the choice that will guide the Church through the election of the Successor of St. Peter need our prayers for their wisdom. The Conclave will begin on Monday 18 April and last until the Cardinals have elected a new Pope, somewhere between one day and two weeks. During these days leading to the Pope’s election, please continue to pray for the Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church, perhaps with these words:
Father of providence, look with love upon Your Church and guide the hearts and minds of the Cardinal Electors with Your wisdom. Grant that, guided by Your will, they may choose a Successor of St. Peter who will be the visible center and foundation of our unity in faith and love. Send Your Holy Spirit to those charged with the solemn duty of electing the Bishop of Rome, and help them provide for Your flock a shepherd after the Heart of Your Son, our Savior Jesus Christ, Who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever. Amen
We are privileged to live at this extraordinary moment in the Church’s long history, and if we desire to honor the memory of John Paul the Great, we can do no better than to emulate his example of living the Christian life without compromise. The Letter to the Hebrews teaches us that "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God" (Hebrews 10:31), meaning that we who are baptized into the death and Resurrection of the Lord Jesus are called to a life of holiness, a life of constant conversion, a life of radical discipleship. That was the life lived by John Paul the Great; let it be the life we live as well.
Fr. Newman
Our Lady of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, pray for us.