Pray with Pope Francis Reflection - August 2024

Fr. Edmund Lo, SJ

Wednesday, August 14, 2024

My brothers and sisters: In this month of August, our Holy Father invites us to pray for political leaders, that they 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.

The relationship between religion and politics can be a hot button issue, but Pope Francis chooses to directly address it by devoting an entire chapter on politics in his encyclical Fratelli Tutti. He speaks about the need for a better kind of politics that does not focus on power or marketing strategies to make our political leaders more popular. Rather, political engagement must stem from charity.

Pope Francis challenges us to reflect and delve into the reasons for our engaging ourselves in politics in the first place. Political engagement that is rooted in charity cultivates a true concern for the lives of others in a comprehensive way. We miss the point if our politics are motivated by ideologies or theories rather than real human beings.

This is to prioritize what helps human flourishing, the common good, as supposed to partisan politics. To practice politics in this manner calls for a conversion of heart. This certainly counters much of the political culture of which we are familiar, but the Gospel is always counter-cultural.

This is why Pope Francis says that the practice of politics can even be considered a noble thing. So, let us pray for our political leaders, for their ongoing conversion of hearts. May God bless you all today.

Watch previous Pray with Pope Francis videos here.