The Pope: 5 themes to pray these days

These are some of the issues Pope Leo XIV has encouraged us to pray about and consider in the coming days. 

1.- Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. 

In the Angelus Today, the Pope has paused for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, eight days until the feast of the Conversion of St. Paul on the 25th.

The origin of this initiative comes from Pope Leo XIII, he recalled. This year's theme is taken from the Letter to the Ephesians, “One body and one Spirit, as one is the hope to which we have been called”.

The prayers and prayers have been prepared by an ecumenical group coordinated by the Department of Interreligious Relations of the Armenian Apostolic Church. “Therefore, I invite all Catholic communities to strengthen in these days the prayer for the full unity of all Christians. This commitment to the unit must be consistently accompanied by peace and justice in the world”.”, he encouraged.

 2.- Africa. 

On Sunday, the Pope prayed for Africa, specifically for the Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, and for the flood victims in southern Africa. 

“The people of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, forced to flee their own country, especially to Burundi, because of the violence, who are facing a serious humanitarian crisis. Let us pray that between the parties to the conflict let dialogue, reconciliation and peace always prevail”.”, the Holy Father invited.

3.- Let us learn from St. John the Baptist.

Based on the Gospel This Sunday (cf. Jn 1:29-34), the Holy Father said that the Baptist was a man very much loved by the crowds, to the point of being feared by the authorities of Jerusalem (cf. Jn 1:19). 

“It would have been easy for him to take advantage of this fame; instead, does not yield at all to the temptation of success and popularity.”said Leo XIV. “Faced with Jesus, he recognizes his own littleness and gives space to his greatness. He knows that he was sent to prepare ‘the way of the Lord» (Mk 1:3; cf. Is 40:3), and when the Lord comes, he acknowledges his presence with joy and humility and withdraws from the scene.’.

“We don't need these ‘happiness substitutes’.’, Our joy and our greatness are not based on fleeting illusions of success and fame. “Our joy and our greatness are not based on fleeting illusions of success and fame, but on knowing that we are loved and desired by our Father in heaven”.

“Let us learn from John the Baptist to keep the spirit alert, loving simple things and sincere words, the Pontiff encouraged. “Living with sobriety and depth of mind and heart, making do with what is necessary and finding every day, as soon as possible, a special moment in which we can to pause in silence to pray, to reflect, to listen, to listen to. In short, to “go to the desert”, and there to meet the Lord and be with Him.". 

May the Virgin Mary, model of simplicity, wisdom and humility, help us in this, he concluded. 

4.- To young people: “It's always better to see each other in person, not just on screens.”.

Pope Leo XIV embraced the youth of Rome - both literally and with his words - during a meeting a few days ago with the young people of the Diocese of Rome, telling them to choose real relationships over digital isolation, reported Paulina Guzik, from OSV News

«It is always better to see each other in person and not just on screens,» Pope Leo told the crowd, adding, “It is very important that we try to build human relationships, good friendships and, above all, friendship with Jesus.”.

Iran, Venezuela

These are countries to which Pope Leo XIV has recently referred, asking for prayers. On this occasion, Vatican News includes the "great concern" We ask ourselves “how is it possible to attack its own people? We ask ourselves ”how is it possible to attack one's own people“. And the commitment to apeaceful solution in Venezuela. 

These are two considerations expressed by the Vatican's Cardinal Secretary of State, Pietro Parolin, when answering questions from journalists on the sidelines of the Eucharistic celebration with the exposition of the relics of St. Pier Giorgio Frassati. This exposition took place on the afternoon of January 17, in the church of the Domus Mariae in Rome.