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A Time of Prayer and Hope for the Church
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May 8, 2025We are awaiting the election of a new Pope. Only the Holy Spirit knows who will be the successor of Pope Francis and where/how our new Shepherd will lead us. It is A TIME OF PRAYER AND HOPE FOR THE ENTIRE CHURCH. It is a time that will impact each one of the 1. 4 billion Catholics spread over the entire world. It is a time that will impact you and me individually and collectively as we together with our Catholic brothers and sisters are the Body of Christ, Christ being the Head of the Church and we the members.
We can also say with Padre Pio, it is a time to pray, a time to hope, a time not to worry, God through the Holy Spirit is in charge! He will guide the choice of the next Pope. We have to do our part. We have to pray for the Cardinal Electors. We have to pray to God that the Jubilee Year 2025 opened by Pope Francis will be truly a Year of HOPE.
As practicing Catholics we are united every time we gather around the altar, especially at the time of the Holy Communion when we become truly ONE IN CHRIST. Our prayers for the Church and the new Pope will strengthen our Unity, While Jesus prayed to His Father: “May they all be ONE IN ME as You and I are ONE”. (John 17:21), the Unity of the Church is under constant attack by the Devil. The Devil loves to divide, we know that God is stronger than any evil spirit. We know that God will be victorious in the end. We trust that we can put our Hope in the Lord! He is our only Hope!
As you read this column, the Cardinal Electors have already begun to cast their votes to choose the successor to Pope Francis and we may have already a Pope replacing Francis. You may have seen on television the white smoke coming out of the Vatican’s chimney. You may have heard the Latin words HABEMUS PA PAM proclaimed by the Cardinal Proto-Deacon to the entire world before his announcing the name of the new Pope. VIVA EL PAPA! Long live the Pope! A new Papacy has begun in Joy and Hope!
As pilgrims of Hope, 27 parishioners and I will be in Rome on May 10 to 13. We hope that we may be in St Peter’s Square to see the white smoke and the New Pope. May 11 is Good Shepherd Sunday. Maybe the Holy Spirit will unite over two-thirds of the Cardinals on that very day to select the new Shepherd of the Church.
This coming Sunday whether or not we have a Pope, we will all hear one of the shortest Gospels of the entire Year: John 10:27-30. Four short verses, but very powerful: “My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish. No one can take them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one can take them out of the Father’s hand. The Father and I are one.”
I invite you to meditate on what this Gospel means for you today in your own relationship with Jesus and His Church. Do you see it is a message of Hope in this Jubilee Year 2025? Maybe the Holy Spirit has chosen May 11, 2025 to be the day we will have a new Pope, a new Shepherd for the Catholic Church.
Let us pray that the Cardinal Electors gathered in the Conclave since Wednesday will be inspired by the Holy Spirit to vote for the one Cardinal that will lead the Church on the path of Unity, Love and Strength desired by God. May the Church continue to proclaim the Gospel, the Good News of Our Lord Jesus Christ to the entire world! MAY WE ALL BE ONE IN CHRIST!
On this Fourth Sunday of Easter, we will also celebrate Mother’s Day. May God bless all expectant Mothers, all Grand-Mothers and all Great-Grand Mothers! Happy Mother’s Day!
One in Christ,
Father Alain