“I ask not only on behalf of these but also on behalf of those who believe in me through their word, that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.” John 17:20-21

Friends, we sit before the beginning of the conclave of cardinals who will elect a new Pope. It’s a strange time: sad, hopeful, expectant, curious.

If you are in touch with Catholic social media of any sort, there is a lot of wishing and fishing out there–and I suppose it is natural. Insider Catholics will often know or know of certain cardinals they admire, and publicly wish they have a chance. And then they fish for “who do you want to be Pope?” Since prognosticating has nearly always been for naught, and politicking is useless, this is truly the ritual Rorschach test of where your friends sit on the Catholic spectrum. I guess it is one way to assess “what are people seeing about the state of the Church and the world, and who do we need to lead?”

Yet what I see–in our nation, in our world, in our Church–is escalating division. It’s rampant, growing, and destructive.

I would like to propose a different prayer for the conclave. I would like to propose the prayer of Jesus himself for his disciples: “…that they may all be one, as the Father and I are One.”

I hope they recognize that acrimonious division is the anti-evangelization. That God created us for unity. That we remember what unites us first, over what divides us. That they (and we) can work toward being heralds of the gospel, speaking truth in love and before all else, bringing hope.

Did I say playing with division is the anti-evangelization? Yes, I did. Because Jesus did. Look at verse 21: so that the world may believe that you have sent me. Unity in heart and soul is the work of God: it brings peace, and it evangelizes a weary world.

I don’t pretend that will be easy, and mending division cannot be done without God’s help. But one who unifies is what you want in a leader in general, and it is what you expect in the Vicar of Christ.

Also, this is the Lord’s own prayer. Praying with Jesus Christ’s words has been valued throughout time, and done every moment we say “Our Father….” Why don’t we also pray, every day, “Lord, may we all be one”?

I ask you to join me in this prayer for the cardinals present at the conclave, that they may be guided by Jesus Christ’s own prayer. And then, perhaps we can pray the Lord’s own prayer for us regularly: Lord, help us all be one…so they may know the Father sent his Son to save us.

Heavenly Father,
Your Son prayed,
“That they may all be one.”
Unite Your Church in this critical hour.
Draw the hearts of the cardinals into a deeper communion with one another,
that they may seek not their own will, but Yours alone.

“As You, Father, are in Me and I am in You,”
May those entrusted with this great responsibility abide fully in You.
Let the bond of love between the Father and the Son
be the bond that guides every prayer, every conversation, every decision.

“May they also be in Us,”
Lead those within the conclave to dwell in Your divine life,
to be formed by Your heart,
to be shaped by the mind of Christ,
to be animated by the fire of the Holy Spirit.

“So that the world may believe that You have sent Me.”
Grant, O Lord, that through the unity of Your Church
and the choosing of a holy and faithful Shepherd,
the world may see and believe
that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.

O Mary, Mother of the Church, pray for us.
Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Your faithful.
Come, Lord Jesus, shepherd Your people.

Amen.