Election evidence of God’s faithfulness

Bishop Sartain gave this homily at the Cathedral of St. Andrew in Little Rock on April 24, the day of the installation of Pope Benedict XVI.

What took place last week and Sunday morning in Rome were at their deepest core Christian events: the choosing and installation of a successor of St. Peter as universal head of the Church. There has been widespread interest in the Catholic Church in recent weeks, interest spanning continents and religions, languages and cultures. I was in an airport when TV monitors announced that a new pope had been chosen.
As I walked from gate to gate, I was fascinated by the rapt attention many gave to the announcement. These have been mesmerizing, beautiful weeks, marked by an instinctive, collective sense that what was happening in Rome was important for the whole world. And so it was.
Why was the conclave held “in secret,” with cardinals sequestered behind Vatican walls and out of our range of vision? Because what took place was a spiritual event designed to be held before the eyes of God and his alone. Was it a matter of cardinals making a choice, which they then asked God to bless? No, to the contrary, it was a matter of their prayerfully asking God to reveal to them his choice, so that they would vote accordingly.
That is the Christian approach: to say to God, “Father, show us your way.” Through the 2,000-year history of the Church, this question has been prayerfully asked time and again, and God has always answered in faithfulness and love.
Since Tuesday (April 19) there have been many analyses and interpretations of the election of Pope Benedict XVI, and no doubt they will continue. But you and I know that the conclave was about God’s faithfulness to the promise he made us through his Son, Jesus: that he would send the Holy Spirit to remind us of all that Jesus taught and keep us faithful to him. That is what the cardinals prayed for as they prepared for the election and voted. “Father, show us the one whom you have chosen through your Holy Spirit to lead us in faithfulness to your Son.” God answered their prayers, and quickly!
The conclave was both a time of prayer and a time of trust: trust that God alone truly knows what we need, trust that he will never fail us. We trust that God would never lead astray the flock his Son purchased at the price of his blood, and that is why time after time, century after century, the Church turns to him in prayer and says, “Father, show us your way. We trust in you.”
During the past week, my thoughts have turned often to Pope Benedict XVI. What must he be thinking and praying these days? He has spent a good part of his life delving into the mystery of Christ as a theologian, professor and bishop, tasks which require humility above all else. Theologians must be among the most humble, because they stand before the deepest truths hoping to understand and explain them better to God’s people. Pope Benedict’s words the day of his election give a clear hint that this is what he is thinking:
“Dear brothers and sisters, after our great Pope, John Paul II, the cardinals have elected me, a simple, humble worker in God’s vineyard. I am consoled by the fact that the Lord knows how to work and how to act, even with insufficient tools, and I especially trust in your prayers. In the joy of the resurrected Lord, trustful of his permanent help, we go forward, sure that God will help. And Mary, his most beloved Mother, stands on our side.”
These are simple Christian words, which are equally true for you and me because they are based on trust in God’s promises. In an expansive, universal fashion, the conclave demonstrated how we are to approach every decision in life: “Father, show us your way.” That is a prayer for praying when we are ready to submit to God in trust and humility. God knows what is best for the Church and will never fail her. God knows what is best for you and me, and he will never fail us.
Back in the 12th century, St. Bernard of Clairvaux offered advice in the form of a lengthy book to one of his monks who had been elected pope. Toward the end of the work, he wrote to Pope Eugene III:
“Do you think you can find work to be done in the field of your Lord? Much indeed. Certainly the prophets could not correct everything. They left something for their sons, the apostles, to do; and they, your parents, have left something for you. But you cannot do everything. For you will leave something to your successor, and he to others, and they to others until the end of time.”
“Until the end of time.” Jesus promised that he is with us always “until the end of time.” You and I have been placed in this period of history as his disciples and given the task of doing our part to spread his kingdom. We have been given a new pope, a successor to St. Peter himself, to shepherd us along the way of Jesus.
Welcome, Your Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI. We promise you our prayers, our ears, our hearts, and our obedience as you guide us along the way of Jesus.
Jesus, and Jesus alone, is our way, our truth, our life. With you, our Shepherd, we will never cease praying, “Father, show us your way.”
Do you have an intention for Bishop Sartain’s prayer? If so, send it to him at Bishop Sartain’s Prayer List, Diocese of Little Rock, 2500 North Tyler St., P.O. Box 7239, Little Rock, AR 72217.

Special to Arkansas Catholic

Latest from From the Bishop

Election evidence of God’s faithfulness

Bishop Sartain gave this homily at the Cathedral of St. Andrew in Little Rock on April 24, the day of the installation of Pope Benedict XVI.

What took place last week and Sunday morning in Rome were at their deepest core Christian events: the choosing and installation of a successor of St. Peter as universal head of the Church. There has been widespread interest in the Catholic Church in recent weeks, interest spanning continents and religions, languages and cultures. I was in an airport when TV monitors announced that a new pope had been chosen.
As I walked from gate to gate, I was fascinated by the rapt attention many gave to the announcement. These have been mesmerizing, beautiful weeks, marked by an instinctive, collective sense that what was happening in Rome was important for the whole world. And so it was.
Why was the conclave held “in secret,” with cardinals sequestered behind Vatican walls and out of our range of vision? Because what took place was a spiritual event designed to be held before the eyes of God and his alone. Was it a matter of cardinals making a choice, which they then asked God to bless? No, to the contrary, it was a matter of their prayerfully asking God to reveal to them his choice, so that they would vote accordingly.
That is the Christian approach: to say to God, “Father, show us your way.” Through the 2,000-year history of the Church, this question has been prayerfully asked time and again, and God has always answered in faithfulness and love.
Since Tuesday (April 19) there have been many analyses and interpretations of the election of Pope Benedict XVI, and no doubt they will continue. But you and I know that the conclave was about God’s faithfulness to the promise he made us through his Son, Jesus: that he would send the Holy Spirit to remind us of all that Jesus taught and keep us faithful to him. That is what the cardinals prayed for as they prepared for the election and voted. “Father, show us the one whom you have chosen through your Holy Spirit to lead us in faithfulness to your Son.” God answered their prayers, and quickly!
The conclave was both a time of prayer and a time of trust: trust that God alone truly knows what we need, trust that he will never fail us. We trust that God would never lead astray the flock his Son purchased at the price of his blood, and that is why time after time, century after century, the Church turns to him in prayer and says, “Father, show us your way. We trust in you.”
During the past week, my thoughts have turned often to Pope Benedict XVI. What must he be thinking and praying these days? He has spent a good part of his life delving into the mystery of Christ as a theologian, professor and bishop, tasks which require humility above all else. Theologians must be among the most humble, because they stand before the deepest truths hoping to understand and explain them better to God’s people. Pope Benedict’s words the day of his election give a clear hint that this is what he is thinking:
“Dear brothers and sisters, after our great Pope, John Paul II, the cardinals have elected me, a simple, humble worker in God’s vineyard. I am consoled by the fact that the Lord knows how to work and how to act, even with insufficient tools, and I especially trust in your prayers. In the joy of the resurrected Lord, trustful of his permanent help, we go forward, sure that God will help. And Mary, his most beloved Mother, stands on our side.”
These are simple Christian words, which are equally true for you and me because they are based on trust in God’s promises. In an expansive, universal fashion, the conclave demonstrated how we are to approach every decision in life: “Father, show us your way.” That is a prayer for praying when we are ready to submit to God in trust and humility. God knows what is best for the Church and will never fail her. God knows what is best for you and me, and he will never fail us.
Back in the 12th century, St. Bernard of Clairvaux offered advice in the form of a lengthy book to one of his monks who had been elected pope. Toward the end of the work, he wrote to Pope Eugene III:
“Do you think you can find work to be done in the field of your Lord? Much indeed. Certainly the prophets could not correct everything. They left something for their sons, the apostles, to do; and they, your parents, have left something for you. But you cannot do everything. For you will leave something to your successor, and he to others, and they to others until the end of time.”
“Until the end of time.” Jesus promised that he is with us always “until the end of time.” You and I have been placed in this period of history as his disciples and given the task of doing our part to spread his kingdom. We have been given a new pope, a successor to St. Peter himself, to shepherd us along the way of Jesus.
Welcome, Your Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI. We promise you our prayers, our ears, our hearts, and our obedience as you guide us along the way of Jesus.
Jesus, and Jesus alone, is our way, our truth, our life. With you, our Shepherd, we will never cease praying, “Father, show us your way.”
Do you have an intention for Bishop Sartain’s prayer? If so, send it to him at Bishop Sartain’s Prayer List, Diocese of Little Rock, 2500 North Tyler St., P.O. Box 7239, Little Rock, AR 72217.

Special to Arkansas Catholic

Latest from From the Bishop

Election evidence of God’s faithfulness

Bishop Sartain gave this homily at the Cathedral of St. Andrew in Little Rock on April 24, the day of the installation of Pope Benedict XVI.

What took place last week and Sunday morning in Rome were at their deepest core Christian events: the choosing and installation of a successor of St. Peter as universal head of the Church. There has been widespread interest in the Catholic Church in recent weeks, interest spanning continents and religions, languages and cultures. I was in an airport when TV monitors announced that a new pope had been chosen.
As I walked from gate to gate, I was fascinated by the rapt attention many gave to the announcement. These have been mesmerizing, beautiful weeks, marked by an instinctive, collective sense that what was happening in Rome was important for the whole world. And so it was.
Why was the conclave held “in secret,” with cardinals sequestered behind Vatican walls and out of our range of vision? Because what took place was a spiritual event designed to be held before the eyes of God and his alone. Was it a matter of cardinals making a choice, which they then asked God to bless? No, to the contrary, it was a matter of their prayerfully asking God to reveal to them his choice, so that they would vote accordingly.
That is the Christian approach: to say to God, “Father, show us your way.” Through the 2,000-year history of the Church, this question has been prayerfully asked time and again, and God has always answered in faithfulness and love.
Since Tuesday (April 19) there have been many analyses and interpretations of the election of Pope Benedict XVI, and no doubt they will continue. But you and I know that the conclave was about God’s faithfulness to the promise he made us through his Son, Jesus: that he would send the Holy Spirit to remind us of all that Jesus taught and keep us faithful to him. That is what the cardinals prayed for as they prepared for the election and voted. “Father, show us the one whom you have chosen through your Holy Spirit to lead us in faithfulness to your Son.” God answered their prayers, and quickly!
The conclave was both a time of prayer and a time of trust: trust that God alone truly knows what we need, trust that he will never fail us. We trust that God would never lead astray the flock his Son purchased at the price of his blood, and that is why time after time, century after century, the Church turns to him in prayer and says, “Father, show us your way. We trust in you.”
During the past week, my thoughts have turned often to Pope Benedict XVI. What must he be thinking and praying these days? He has spent a good part of his life delving into the mystery of Christ as a theologian, professor and bishop, tasks which require humility above all else. Theologians must be among the most humble, because they stand before the deepest truths hoping to understand and explain them better to God’s people. Pope Benedict’s words the day of his election give a clear hint that this is what he is thinking:
“Dear brothers and sisters, after our great Pope, John Paul II, the cardinals have elected me, a simple, humble worker in God’s vineyard. I am consoled by the fact that the Lord knows how to work and how to act, even with insufficient tools, and I especially trust in your prayers. In the joy of the resurrected Lord, trustful of his permanent help, we go forward, sure that God will help. And Mary, his most beloved Mother, stands on our side.”
These are simple Christian words, which are equally true for you and me because they are based on trust in God’s promises. In an expansive, universal fashion, the conclave demonstrated how we are to approach every decision in life: “Father, show us your way.” That is a prayer for praying when we are ready to submit to God in trust and humility. God knows what is best for the Church and will never fail her. God knows what is best for you and me, and he will never fail us.
Back in the 12th century, St. Bernard of Clairvaux offered advice in the form of a lengthy book to one of his monks who had been elected pope. Toward the end of the work, he wrote to Pope Eugene III:
“Do you think you can find work to be done in the field of your Lord? Much indeed. Certainly the prophets could not correct everything. They left something for their sons, the apostles, to do; and they, your parents, have left something for you. But you cannot do everything. For you will leave something to your successor, and he to others, and they to others until the end of time.”
“Until the end of time.” Jesus promised that he is with us always “until the end of time.” You and I have been placed in this period of history as his disciples and given the task of doing our part to spread his kingdom. We have been given a new pope, a successor to St. Peter himself, to shepherd us along the way of Jesus.
Welcome, Your Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI. We promise you our prayers, our ears, our hearts, and our obedience as you guide us along the way of Jesus.
Jesus, and Jesus alone, is our way, our truth, our life. With you, our Shepherd, we will never cease praying, “Father, show us your way.”
Do you have an intention for Bishop Sartain’s prayer? If so, send it to him at Bishop Sartain’s Prayer List, Diocese of Little Rock, 2500 North Tyler St., P.O. Box 7239, Little Rock, AR 72217.

Special to Arkansas Catholic

Latest from From the Bishop