When Pope Francis first addressed his followers, he said, "Pray for me."
Jesuit priest and writer Fr. James Martin explained:
“It’s very common, the most natural thing in the world; and priests, brothers, sisters and bishops do it every day. Including me. We all need prayers and so does the Pope."
Yesterday at my church St. Matthias in Somerset, NJ, we prayed for President-elect Trump. Here is what we said:
~ For President-elect Donald Trump and all elected officials...that the words of the psalmist may guide their hearts and minds "to lead the people with justice and with equity," upholding the dignity and rights of all people, working steadfastly to build a nation of respect, inclusion, and compassion...we pray...
Some in our faith community raised an eyebrow that we would include such a prayer in our services.
Our pastor's comment was: What would Francis do?
I'm glad that we prayed for Trump, not because I supported or voted for him, but because it is the right thing to do. As Americans we need to realize that so many outside forces want to divide us. We must never let that happen. We need to unite and all Presidents will need prayers to do this difficult job. We should also pray for the losers to be a part of unifying, Jill, Gary, Hillary, all of them. I'm glad that Bernie is making his rounds to give people hope and foster unity.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment, Unknown. I agree: we should try to unite and support our government leaders. I like your idea of praying even for Bernie and Hillary etc. They are also in leadership positions and therefore need our prayers for sure.
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