Join us in prayer for the intentions entrusted to us by Pope Francis. For January 2024, we join the Holy Father in praying for: The gift of diversity in the Church

• Let us pray that the Holy Spirit helps us recognize the gift of different charisms within the Christian community, and to discover the richness of different ritual traditions in the heart of the Catholic Church.

Click the video above to watch a short message from Pope Francis:

There is no need to fear the diversity of charisms in the Church. Rather, living this diversity should make us rejoice!

Diversity and unity were already very much present in the first Christian communities. The tension had to be resolved on a higher level.

But there’s more. To move forward on the journey of faith, we also need ecumenical dialogue with our brothers and sisters of other confessions and Christian communities.

This is not something confusing or disturbing, but is a gift God gives to the Christian community so it might grow as one body, the Body of Christ.

Let’s think, for example, of the Eastern Churches. They have their own traditions, their own characteristic liturgical rites…yet they maintain the unity of the faith. They strengthen it, not divide it.

If we are guided by the Holy Spirit, abundance, variety, diversity, never cause conflict.

The Holy Spirit reminds us first and foremost that we are children loved by God – everyone equal in God’s love, and everyone different.

Let us pray that the Spirit help us recognize the gift of different charisms within the Christian communities, and to discover the richness of different ritual traditions within the Catholic Church.

 

Daily Offering Prayer

God, our Father, I offer You my day. I offer You my prayers, thoughts, words, actions, joys, and sufferings in union with the Heart of Jesus, who continues to offer Himself in the Eucharist for the salvation of the world. May the Holy Spirit, Who guided Jesus, be my guide and my strength today so that I may witness to your love. With Mary, the mother of our Lord and the Church, I pray for all Apostles of Prayer and for the prayer intentions proposed by the Holy Father this month. Amen.  

Traditional Daily Offering of the Apostleship of Prayer

O Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I offer You my prayers, works, joys, and sufferings of this day in union with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass throughout the world. I offer them for all the intentions of Your Sacred Heart: the salvation of souls, reparation for sin, and the reunion of all Christians. I offer them for the intentions of our bishops and of all Apostles of Prayer, and in particular for those recommended by our Holy Father this month. The Apostles of Prayer offer themselves to God each day for the good of the world, the Church, one another, and the Holy Father’s intentions.  

Thank you for praying with us!

Click here to look back on Pope Francis' past prayer intentions on the Salt + Light Media Blog.