On May 10, Pope Leo XIV made his first trip outside the Vatican to Genazzano to visit the Shrine of Our Lady of Good Counsel. Credit: Vatican Media.
Communication for most of the Church’s history was much slower. We don’t all need to be paying attention to every single move of the Holy Father, unless we find that edifying. If it helps us to love God and neighbor, to grow in faith, hope, and love, then great. Track the news.
By Chris Sparks
Habemus papam! We have a pope! And an American, at that!
It’s natural for there to be a ton of interest and excitement about the new Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, in the United States, just as there was in Poland when St. John Paul II was elected, or in Germany or Argentina, when Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis were each elected in turn.
And at the same time, all the attention can sometimes distract us from the truly important thing we need to do in response to his election: Pray for him.
Pray for the pope
The higher the office in the Church, the more badly people need our prayers. Heck, I’m a little member of a much bigger body, and I could use your prayers every day!
It’ll be easy in the days to come to get distracted by all the commentary about him, about his past, about his decisions, about his writings, about what he says or doesn’t say, what he does or doesn’t do. High office comes with many dangers, many challenges. He will face the knottiest problems in our Church because that’s the sort of thing that reaches the desk of the Successor to St. Peter. If someone else could have solved it, the problem usually disappears before it reaches the Pope.
So he doesn’t need our judgment, or our fears, or our misguided reactions to false quotes attributed to him (they’re already spreading on social media!). He needs our prayers, born out of our love for our Holy Father.
Love God and neighbor
The same question that Jesus posed to Peter three times (“Simon, son of John, do you love me?”) is posed to each of us as well. If we answer “Yes, Lord, You know that I love You,” then we are also committing to love our neighbor. That means we are committing to love our fathers in the faith, our priests, bishops, and our Holy Father, the Pope. And love looks like prayer. It looks like intercession on behalf of our priests, bishops, and Holy Father.
Love Jesus, and love Peter. Pray for Peter. Pray for Pope Leo XIV. Pray for the repose of the soul of Pope Francis. Pray for the Church, living and deceased — every member who’s not in Heaven needs your prayers. Ask the saints in Heaven, the Church Triumphant, for their prayers for the Church on earth. We all need all the help we can get.
Before you get worked up about the news coverage of Pope Leo XIV, make sure you’ve said your Rosary for him, and your Divine Mercy Chaplet.
Remember simpler times
And also remember that for most of Christian history, the lay faithful were living the faith without knowing what had happened in Rome that day, or that week, or even that year.
Communication for most of the Church’s history was much slower. We don’t all need to be paying attention to every single move of the Holy Father, unless we find that edifying. If it helps us to love God and neighbor, to grow in faith, hope, and love, then great. Track the news.
But if you find that following the news from Rome leaves you fearful, frustrated, or upset, then I invite you to turn off that news and spend that time on something better like reading the Gospels, or praying the Rosary for the Church and the world, or gardening, or anything that’s better for your soul. Remember the famous wise words of St. John XXIII: “Lord, it’s your Church. You handle it. I’m going to bed.”
Our prayers are powerful; our worry is useless, and worse than useless. Why do I say that? Because Jesus told St. Faustina, “The graces of My mercy are drawn by means of one vessel only, and that is — trust. The more a soul trusts, the more it will receive” (Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska, 1578). Jesus is not a fan of our worry for the Church. He’s got everything well in hand.
So love the Holy Father, and pray for Pope Leo XIV — no matter what, he’s going to need it.
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