Pledge to pray for the repose of Pope Francis’ soul

(LifeSiteNews) — On this episode of Faith and Reason, Bishop Joseph Strickland joins John-Henry Westen and Deacon Keith Fournier to discuss the urgent need for prayer ahead of the papal conclave, placing our hope in Jesus Christ regardless of who becomes the next pope, and more.

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Deacon Keith opened the episode by noting the novena Strickland is currently leading for next week’s conclave. He asked the bishop why prayer is the most essential way the faithful can prepare for the conclave.

Strickland emphasized that prayer is essential because it must be the foundation of all our decisions and discernments. He urged all Catholics to pray that the College of Cardinals be true Apostles of Christ as they prepare to elect the next Pontiff.

“During this time … we need to pray for [the cardinals] to truly be men, disciples, apostles, coming together to know each other’s hearts in Christ, to know the truth of what they’re there for,” the bishop said. 

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Join Bishop Strickland’s novena for a holy pope:

His Excellency reminded listeners that just as the apostles gathered in prayer to elect a replacement for Judas Iscariot, they will need to prayerfully elect the next successor of St. Peter. Likewise, Strickland stressed that all the faithful need to pray for the cardinals to be prayerful as they enter this conclave.

“In order to have hope and joy and see the light that is always with us, we need to keep returning to prayer. And we have to pray for the cardinals to do that as well, to be men of prayer first,” the bishop said. “Because if they’re truly praying, if they’re not just by rote going through some formulas, but they’re truly entering into the heart of God’s Son, entering into the mind of God and saying, ‘Lord, guide us away from the confusions and the corruptions…’ We have to pray that [the cardinals] pivot in the right direction.”

Later in the episode, Strickland underscored that the pope elected at this conclave may not be the answer to our prayers, but the faithful must remain in His Church and remember that our hope is in Christ.

READ: Cardinal Müller says it would be ‘catastrophic’ for conclave to elect ‘heretic pope’

“I would imagine that there are people … having a wait-and-see attitude with this conclave. If they don’t see a pope come out on that balcony that they feel finally is the one they’ve been praying for, I’m afraid there are many people that are ready to jump ship, to leave the Church,” the bishop said.

“[That’s] a bad plan for the community. It’s bad news for the body of Christ, for we all know God loves everyone that is walking out the back door of the Church and wants them to stay with the Church that His Son established,” he added. “So I think it’s important to, as we speak of hope, we need to make it very real and very concrete and encourage people to simply never give up hope in Christ and His Church.”

To hear more from Bishop Strickland, tune in to this episode of Faith and Reason.

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Pledge to pray for the repose of Pope Francis’ soul