Dear Folks,

This weekend we witnessed the funeral of Pope Francis. I urge all people of goodwill to pray for the repose of his soul, as is our duty for all who pass from this world to the judgment seat of God. I went back and found a quote from his first Sunday homily as pope, and it is consistent with the theme that marked his life: living and experiencing the mercy of God:

“The Lord never tires of forgiving. Never! It is we who tire of asking for his forgiveness. Let us ask for the grace never to tire of asking for what God never tires to give.”

This mercy was at the heart of his spirituality and his message to the world during his time in the chair of St. Peter. May the Lord bestow on him the mercy he so longed to proclaim to others!

Let us also pray for the cardinal electors as they begin the conclave to select the next pope. A few parishioners have asked me who I think it will be—but I must confess, I have no such gift of prophecy.

Side story: In 28 years of priesthood, I have only once correctly guessed who would be named a bishop—or pope. In 2016, six months before Bishop Burbidge came to Arlington, I told some priests from his former diocese that we would be “stealing” him! Now, I wasn’t exercising the gift of prophecy… I was exercising the gift of trolling! I only said it because I knew how much his priests loved him, and I wanted to tease them by pretending we were going to steal him away. The Lord works in mysterious ways!

In all of this, we entrust Pope Francis to the mercy of God, and we pray that the conclave will select a wise and loving shepherd, after the Heart of Our Lord.

To that end, I’ve asked that we temporarily add a prayer after Mass for Pope Francis and for the conclave. By the time you read this, prayer cards should be available in the pews

pax,

Father John Mosimann