In the morning, Pope Benedict is welcomed at the White House by President and Mrs. Bush.  In the afternoon, he celebrates Vespers (Evening Prayer) with the bishops of the United States at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. Today is also Pope Benedict’s 81st birthday.
 
Prayer for each day
 
Lord our God,
we give thanks for this land of freedom:
may we use our freedom for the good of all.
We give thanks for this land of opportunity:
may we share our abundance with others,
so that all people may have their fill of your good gifts.
We give thanks for our peace and security:
may we work to establish peace in the world.
May our nation truly be
a land of liberty and justice,
a place where every human life is treasured,
and a beacon of hope to the world.
We ask this through Christ, our risen Lord.

Reflection from Pope Benedict XVI:  Christ is our Hope

“SPE SALVI facti sumus”—in hope we were saved, says Saint Paul to the Romans, and likewise to us (Rom 8:24). According to the Christian faith, “redemption”—salvation—is not simply a given. Redemption is offered to us in the sense that we have been given hope, trustworthy hope, by virtue of which we can face our present: the present, even if it is arduous, can be lived and accepted if it leads towards a goal, if we can be sure of this goal, and if this goal is great enough to justify the effort of the journey…. Christianity was not only “good news”—the communication of a hitherto unknown content. In our language we would say: the Christian message was not only “informative” but “performative”. That means: the Gospel is not merely a communication of things that can be known—it makes things happen and is life-changing. The dark door of time, of the future, has been thrown open. The one who has hope lives differently; the one who hopes has been granted the gift of a new life.

From the Holy Father’s second encyclical, Spe Salvi (1-2).
Read the entire encyclical here

Prayer Intentions for Today

Morning:  As the Holy Father visits with President Bush, we pray for all our elected leaders, that they will be guided by the Holy Spirit in all the choices they make.  We pray for an end to the violence that divides our world, especially in Iraq.  We pray that our nation may use its power wisely, for the good of all people.