Saint Mary of the Immaculate Conception Roman Catholic Church

Please pray for our new Pope!

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

As the College of Cardinals prepares to enter into the conclave this week and the world awaits the election of a new Pope, I invite you to join me in offering prayer over the coming days asking the Holy Spirit to pour out an abundance of his gifts upon the Cardinal-electors. May the Holy Spirit strengthen them as they choose a new Holy Father to lead the holy Church on earth.

We unite in prayer to ask God to give His Church a pope who is a man of prayer and holiness, like his predecessors throughout the ages since our Lord entrusted the Church to Peter as with the command, “Tend my sheep.” We pray that the example of the next successor of Peter, and his dedication in guarding the mysteries of the faith, will lead all of us to our one goal, to live with God in heaven.

Please join me this week in offering your daily rosary and personal devotions, Holy Communion at Mass, penances and sacrifices, and adoration before the Most Blessed Sacrament for our common intention. Let us together ask the Lord to bestow upon the Cardinals his many graces. Confident in the intercession of Mary, the Holy Mother of God and Mother of the Church, may we soon have a new Holy Father who will shepherd us to life in God.

Dear Folks,

Yes, we still have the picture of Pope Francis displayed, with candles burning as a reminder to pray for the repose of his soul. Prayer and sacrifice for our loved ones does not end with the funeral Mass!

For a deceased pope, there is a long-standing tradition called the Novemdiales—a nine-day mourning period during which nine Masses are offered for the late pope. The funeral is the first of these nine, which means that today (Sunday, May 4th) marks the ninth and final day of these Masses in Rome.

Because all of our parish Mass intentions have already been claimed, we were unable to offer a daily Mass for him here. That’s why we’ve been including a special prayer for Pope Francis at the end of every Mass since his passing. This brings to mind the passing of my own mother, for whom I was blessed to offer a Mass every day for a month. But please don’t try to compare the nine Masses for the pope to the thirty for my mom! Pope Francis is being remembered at altars all over the world—very likely by every priest—so he is certainly not lacking prayers!

This also explains why the conclave to elect the new pope has not yet begun. As the Church, we first devote ourselves to praying for Pope Francis, before turning to the Lord to ask, “What is next?” Because the prayer we’ve been offering includes intentions both for the late Holy Father and for the conclave, we will continue praying it until a new pope is elected.

The conclave begins this Wednesday, May 7th! Keep your eyes on the smoke rising from the Vatican chimney—and listen for the joyful peal of bells!

pax,

Father John Mosimann

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