The Holy Father’s Intentions: Political Leaders

Politics. It’s all around us these days. You love it or you hate it. Maybe you are reading and listening to every single piece of news during this election year, or maybe you wish to hide in a cave and emerge when the elections are over. 

I personally find politics in general and the presidential election specifically to be quite draining. As someone who can get very passionate about a cause (foreign missions, for example), I find not being able to get 100 percent behind any candidate frustrating. I do the research I need to and fulfill my civil duty at the polls, but that’s about it. 

But you know what I sometimes forget to do? Pray. I mean intentionally pray for our leaders and candidates. We can talk, whine, and lament all day. But if we are not praying for our nation and our leaders—whether we “like” them or not—we are failing at one of our basic duties as Christian citizens.

Our home on earth is not our lasting country—the Kingdom of Heaven is. But in whatever country we call home here on earth, we are called to be good citizens. That entails many things, not the least of which is lifting up our leaders in prayer.

The pope’s intention for this month is timely. He says: 

We pray that political leaders be at the service of their own people, working for integral human development and for the common good, especially caring for the poor and those who have lost their jobs.

I challenge you as I am challenging myself: let us pray for this intention during this month of August, but let us also pray for political leaders and candidates by name. Let us be as quick to pray as we are to criticize or to praise a particular person. Because they need our prayers more than any words we may choose to utter about them.

And let us pray for leaders around the world, especially in the countries where our missionaries serve. Many of the poor suffer because of those in power. Let us pray that all leaders will work for the common good. And let us pray especially that they may be open to the good that God desires to work through them and in their own hearts.