Oremus: A Catholic Friend Brings Us His Prayer Request for the Papal Conclave

Last updated on: March 12, 2013 at 6:00 am by Kurt Willems

Oremus: A Catholic Friend Brings Us His Prayer Request for the Papal Conclave 2013-03-11T17:45:39-07:00 Kurt Willems

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

***Guest Post By David Ozab

Catholic or not, unless you’re spent the last month on a deserted island cut off from all communication from the outside world, you know that Pope Benedict XVI resigned at the end of February, that the College of Cardinals has convened in Rome, and that today the cardinal electors (all cardinals under the age of 80) entered the Sistine Chapel and began the conclave that will choose his successor.

Benedict’s rare act of humility stands witness to an aspect of the papacy often overlooked. It is easy to focus on the trappings of power that have unfortunately adhered to the office over the last millennium. It is easy to recall the outrages committed in the name of Christ and his Church. And it is easy to dwell on the grandiose titles like Vicar of Christ and Supreme Pontiff. But the Papacy at its best is captured in the humblest papal title, the Servant of the Servants of God. Jesus told his disciples that “whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave.” (Matthew 20:26-27) In resigning, Benedict expressed the servant ministry called for by Christ, and exemplified the humility called for by his namesake, Saint Benedict. He recognized when he was no longer capable of feed Christ’s sheep (John 21:17) and put aside the power and authority of the office so that a more able servant could take his place.

Now the Cardinal-electors are charged with choosing that more able servant, and it is to the benefit of not just the Catholic Church but to the whole world that they choose wisely, listening to the Holy Spirit in their attempt to discern the best candidate among them to take up the shepherd’s staff on behalf of the Good Shepherd. I now invite you, my Christian brothers and sisters of every denomination and of no denomination, to join me in prayer for the right person to lead the flock entrusted to him out of the wilderness of Lent and into the promise of Easter.

May the cardinals electors have the wisdom to choose someone who can follow Benedict’s unique lesson of humility. Someone who will remember the difference between the office and the man who holds it. We Catholics believe that Christ instituted this office, but the power that Christ granted is invested in the Chair of Saint Peter. It is not the personal possession of the man who occupies that chair at any given moment. He is but a humble servant of the Church. I pray that the cardinals choose one from amongst themselves who can be that humble servant.

May the next pope, once elected, remember that while he holds the keys given to Christ by Peter (as we Catholics again believe), those keys belong to the Church and are entrusted to him by the Church. Benedict’s humble act of returning the keys to the Church is a reminder that their power is held by the Church as the Body of Christ and exercised by Peter’s successor on the Church’s behalf. I pray that the next pope remembers that while he holds Peter’s place–and only for a short time–he is still but one part of the Body, and that no one takes Christ’s place as the Head.

May my fellow Catholics take this same lesson to heart. Pope John Paul II was a colossus and it is natural given the length of his reign that his personal charisma would become confused with the charism of his office. Now that almost seven years have passed since he surrendered the keys in death, and now that his successor has surrendered them in retirement, I pray that we too can remember that we are all the Church–the People of God–and the next pope is our elder brother while Christ alone remains our King.

May my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ outside visible communion with the Catholic Church extend their prayers, blessings, and goodwill to the next pope and to his flock, and may we can work together to the extent possible given our theological differences to spread the Gospel all the time praying that we may one day be visibly one as the Son and the Father are one. I pray that we continue to live out the Great Commission together within our own respective traditions.

May all people of the world, those of differing faiths and of no faith, extend their good will in whatever way best suits their beliefs to the next pope, encouraging him to be a witness to peace and justice to the leaders of the nations and a voice for the powerless in the presence of the powerful. I pray that we remember our shared humanity and our shared home.

I invite you to add your prayers in the comments, remembering to respect our differences both in doctrine and in discipline as I have tried my best to do. May we offer them all up in Jesus’ holy name.

Amen.

Culture

Guest Contributors

Previous Post

March 11, 2013

One person's ceiling is another person's floor - Evangelical Sophistry

Next Post

March 19, 2013 Is preaching nonviolence bad for evangelism?

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category (Series) All Out War-Spiritual Warfare (Series) Church Plant Journal (Series) Dear Reader... (Series) Earthquakes...Signs of the Times? (Series) Entering the... Conversation (Series) Evangelical Culture Myths (Series) Everything is Meaningless [Pete Enns] (Series) Evolving Evangelicalism (Series) Hell Yes. Hell No! Who Cares? (Series) Hidden Worldviews (Series) If Evolution is Right, what about Adam? (Series) in less than 300 words (Series) Jesus and Nationalism (Series) Liberating Women for Ministry? (Series) Life-Changing Books (Series) Markers of Church Plant Movement (Series) Nonviolence 101 (Series) Philemon - Reconciliation (Series) Quote to Ponder (Series) Red Letter Dialogues (Series) Resource of the Week (SERIES) Revelation Sermons (Series) Share Something Sundays (Series) Simplicity in the Burbs: $2 a day (Series) The Binding of God [Open Theism] (Series) The Creed: Anabaptist Reflections (Series) Values for Church Leadership (Series) Video to Ponder Anabaptism Animal Advocacy Books Church Ministry Church Planting Community Culture Eschatology Eucharist Evangelical Reject Evolution Fundamentalism Greek Greg Boyd Guest Contributors Hell Holy Spirit Israel/Palestine Kingdom of God Lent Missional N. T. Wright Nationalism New Creation Nonviolence Open Mic Open Theism Parenting Passover Paul Philemon Podcast Politics Restorative Justice Revelation (the book of) Rob Bell Ron Martoia Sermon Shane Claiborne Social Justice Speaking Engagement Spiritual Warfare Spirituality Temple Theology Tim Geddert Tribulation Uncategorized universalism Video Blog Women in Ministry Worship Music Youth Ministry

Select a Month August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 October 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 December 2016 October 2016 August 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who interpreted a dream about a tree that reached heaven?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Daniel Ezekiel Joel Amos

Support this
Column