By Matthew Plese fatima.org
Yes, in fact, we should pray for the Holy Father’s intentions?
Catholic Apologetics #9
“St. Clement Mary Hofbauer once said: ” A Christian who does not pray for the pope is like a child who does not pray for his father” Yet in our age when the Faith is under attack, when the Pope himself seems to be advancing heresy, and when the Church allows the scandal of the sexual abuse of children to advance, how can we possibly pray “for the intentions of the Holy Father?”
By offering our prayers for the intentions of the Holy Father we are not praying for the personal intentions of Pope Francis, but rather for the six objectives of the Holy Father as the Church Herself teaches.
There are 6 objective intentions of the Holy Father, and, they are:
- The Exaltation of the Church
- The Propagation of the Faith
- The Extirpation of Heresy
- 4 The Conversion of sinners
- The Concord between Christian Princes
- 6 The Further Welfare of the Christian Peoples
Exaltation of the Church
It is not an exaggeration that the Church Herself is in a great tempest as She is under assault from both the liberal, modernist forces within Her as well as from the secular atheistic external forces that beset Her from outside. With immoral and scandalous priests within and with corrupt governments and politicians assaulting Her rights, it is imperative that we pray for the exaltation of the holy Catholic Faith, without which it is not possible to be saved.
Propagation of the Faith
We have before our eyes the example of St. Francis Xavier, among others, who labored for years in great trials and sufferings to save souls and propagate the saving Faith to all peoples. St. Francis converted more people in his life than anyone since St. Paul. He baptized over 50,000 in 10 years, converted the entire town of Goa in India, and he labored long in Japan. Where are our missionaries today? Have they vanished in large parts because we no longer pray for then?
Extirpation of Heresy
We live in dangerous times when error is advanced as progress. The average Catholic today is exposed to more heresies and errors than arguably ever before in our history. Modernism, the synthesis of all heresies, along with relativism, subjectivism, religious liberty, and false ecumenism poisons the mind of many in the Church. And this disease of heresy is so pervasive it has infected many clergy as well. What are we doing to stop it? What are we doing to help counter this heresy? Do we prya for God, through Our Lady, to crush heresy?
Conversion of Sinners
Our Blessed Mother at Fatima said that many souls go to Hellbecause there is no one to pray for them. What are we doing to counsel fht doubtful, to correct the erring in charity, and pray Rosaries of reparation, or offer up all our daily prayers and actions for this intention.
Concord between Christian Princes
Only 100 years ago the world was plunged into the “war to end all wars” as Catholic nations fought and annihilated each other. As the faith has further been eroded within society especially in Europe, we have seen the rise of democratic, atheistic nations. God is no longer the King of all ages. Nations claim to receive their power from the governed and there is no room for God. But what would our world look like today if the kings of old – the King of France, the King of Bavaria, the King of Belgium – were to reign today as true sovereigns who advanced the rights of God and restored true charity to all? Do we pray for truly Catholic governments to return like France of old or Ecuador under Garcia Moreno?
Further Welfare of the Christian People
The Holy Father,the Servant of the Servants of God can teach us by example how to love our neighbor and perform both the corporal as well as the spiritual works of mercy. If you have read How the Catholic Church Built western Civilization by Thomas Woods, you will recall how Dr. Woods relates the varied, countless achievements from monasticism.
Among them we have not only the preservation of literacy but priceless books of antiquity … but countless works of charity, the first wide scale use of water power, the cultivation of agriculture the clearing of immense areas of previously uninhabitable land, the creation of complex astronomical clocks and the creation of champagne! May we one day see the happy return of monasteries and convents blanketing our lands and these holy souls pray to God day and night for their fellow Christians
Conclusion
Alas, if we have fallen from the habit of praying for the intentions of the Holy Father out of despair or sadness for what has been occurring in ourchurch, let us renew our rigor to say our prayers for the intentions fo the Holy Father.
As we do do so, we should keep these six intentions at the forefront of our minds.
For more Catholic Apologetics by Matthew Plese:
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