The selection of a pope is not a popularity contest or a political campaign. The Cardinals aren’t picking their favorite guy, but he who they feel called to select as the successor of St. Peter. As they prepare themselves today they gather in silence before the Blessed Sacrament—face-to-face with Jesus—to consult He who has called them. Beautiful!
A Spirit-Filled Process of Discernment
At the feet of our king they seek His will and not their own, and their is no doubt that they are experiencing their own kind of agony going into the conclave. I say this because they must set aside their own desires, die to themselves and their egos, in order to do the will of God. If you’ve every tried that you’ll know it’s not an easy thing to do. In fact, it was Jesus’ most painful battle—even more than the scourging, the crown of thorns, the ascent to Golgotha. For it was in His agony that Jesus felt “sorrowful even unto death” and which his “sweat turned to blood”.
They must be open to the promptings of the Holy Spirit, who is the one who will work through them. If not, they have failed their duty. The conclave should not be a debate, rather a spirit-filled selection process that involves prayer and discernment. That’s why we must pray for them.
The Judgement Looms
As the Cardinals enter the conclave—which is latin for “with key”, since the doors are locked and they are locked-in and cut-off from the outside world—they gather beneath Michelangelo’s “The Last Judgement” where Christ separates the “sheep from the goats” and all receive their reward or their punishment. This is a serious matter with eternal implications.
The reasoning for this is to keep it fresh in the minds of the Cardinals that they will be judged by their actions, specifically their votes. Something we should all remember as we go to the polls on election year, but that’s another post. They have been chosen and given an incredible responsibility that they must give accounts for when they stand before the judgement seat of Christ the King. It is not to be taken lightly.
It’s also not a time for us to be judging whether or not we think certain Cardinals should have a vote. I like to say we’ve been blessed with some Cardinals that we sometimes wish we wouldn’t have, but that’s just proof that the Jesus is alive and active in the Church, purifying us men with the healing powerful of His love and mercy. So let’s not judge the Cardinals. Let’s pray for them!
Pray for the Cardinals!
You can do it. You should do it. Don’t make excuses. Some excellent resources have popped up within the past couple week’s that will help us to answer this call to prayer. Here are some of them:
Adopt a Cardinal
You now have the opportunity to actively be part of this providential endeavour by having a Cardinal assigned to you, who you will support through your prayer and intercession during the coming weeks before and during the conclave and for three days following the election.
http://www.adoptacardinal.org/
Novena for the Papal Conclave
With the retirement of Pope Benedict XVI, we will be doing a novena for the conclave. There has been great interest in this novena, however there are no details on when the conclave will take place. We are waiting on word from the Vatican. You can join us in prayer here:
http://www.praymorenovenas.com/novena-for-the-papal-conclave/
The implications of this decision are great and the Catholic Church and the world all seek to know who the next pope will be. It is for this reason that the Cardinals have asked us to pray for them. Instead of trying to guess or speculate about the next Roman pontiff, let’s get on our knees daily praying for the Cardinals, the conclave, and the Church.