Vote For Pedro!
Or not. Pay no attention to the prophecies.
There is supposed to be no campaigning - yet there are sites online promoting this or that Cardinal. I read that there were posters in Rome promoting Turkson. Media is buzzing about what kind of Pope the Church needs, and Cardinals are making statements in interviews what kind of Pope the Church needs, how many languages he should be able to speak, and so on.
Catholics of all sects and factions want their particular style of Pope to implement or undo whatever it is they want or don't want in the Church. There are novenas and prayers being offered and I'll wager not a few people are praying: "Oh God - don't let them pick this guy!" Or, "Lord you must make this guy Pope - he will do this and that and stand up to the world, and call down fire upon our enemies!"
"We are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.” - Mark 8: 33
It seems to me, this is how we are to pray:
Our FatherThe Father already knows what we need before we ask him. It seems to me that is why Benedict XVI resigned... I think Benedict and Our Lord expect us to pray for the new Pope, without worrying about who it will be.
who art in heaven
hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come
thy will be done,
on earth
as it is in heaven.
Give us this day
our daily bread,
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
Lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil. Amen.
NB: This post is the result of my prayer last night, "Oh Lord, please don't let Turkson become pope!' I promptly repented. Not my will, but Thy will be done.
I have purposely resisted reading stories about the conclave, which doesn't mean that a few haven't been seen by me.
ReplyDeleteI trust the Holy Spirit to do the right thing even if it means a "bad" Pope. If that is the case, it must be part of a plan. I will wait patiently for the white smoke...
Now I'm missing smoking.
ReplyDeleteIt's a good thought to put in the heads of many of us Catholics who tend to hyper-inflate the papacy that it shouldn't matter too much to any of us who becomes pope. Christ is the Head of the Church, after all, not the Pope.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, there is an erroneous school of thought among unschooled Catholics that we mustn't speculate because there is only one right choice in any given conclave. One man is the Holy Spirit's candidate and the Holy Spirit will run roughshod over the free will of the cardinals to make sure they elect "His" candidate. Whomever emerges in white on the balcony is the Holy Spirit's direct choice. That's malarky. Worse, it's heretical.
I think of the Church in ages past when there was no media, no internet, no TV, no printing press, no mass communication at all. Your average Catholic for most of the history of the Church would have been unable to identify the reigning pope, much less was he concerned about the pope's biography, his thoughts, his latest encyclical, his daily schedule, his couture, etc. The only average Catholics who saw or heard from the Bishop of Rome...were Romans.
Sometimes I hope that one day Rome will reclaim her bishop as her own and that some future Pontiff will recognize that he can be the leading bishop in the Church without at the same time trying to be Bishop of Earth. That's an awfully big diocese for one guy to effectively shepherd. That's why there are, you know, other bishops.
All of that having been said, I'll just die if they don't elect Cardinal Tagle!
Vote for Pedro! That's hilarious! It reminds me of that movie Napoleon Dynamite.
ReplyDeleteThanks Terry, Now I want a smoke too.
ReplyDelete