On January 26, Father Jonathan Meyer, pastor of All Saints parish in Guilford, Indiana gave a sermon that has garnered a stir on YouTube.
After much attention to the conversion of President Trump from pro-choice, Father Meyer proceeded:
“We are never to give up. Conversion is possible for everyone. Abby Johnson was a director of Planned Parenthood and was responsible for the death of hundreds of thousands of unborn children, and yet she converted…. Norma McCorvey, who was Jane Roe of Roe v. Wade, was pro-choice, converted, and died a Roman Catholic preaching the Gospel message of life. Dr. Bernard Nathanson was known in America as the abortion king and was the founder of NARAL; three years after Roe v. Wade he saw for the first time in his life an ultrasound, and on that day when he saw for the first time a child in her mother’s womb, he walked away from abortion and became one of the most staunch pro-life advocates and died a Roman Catholic….
“St. Paul spent his life killing Christians, but then he converted. He came to the light. Do you think that when the first Christians heard that Paul had converted that they believed he had converted?
“We are to never give up on anyone. Donald Trump is proof of that.
“When is the last time you prayed for or fasted for Nancy Pelosi? Or Joe Biden, or Elizabeth Warren or Bernie Sanders? They should be prayed for every single day….
“When’s the last time you prayed and fasted for Ellen DeGeneres? Or Lady GaGa? Or Pink? Or Chris Evans, Or John Legend?
“I still fast and pray for Madonna. Imagine if she converted. Do you know Madonna was raised a Roman Catholic, that she named her kids Lourdes and Fatima? If she converted, the light she would bring to a world of darkness…
“My good friend Father John Hollowell offers Masses for the conversion of Britney Spears.How awesome is that? We had a Mass here at our parish at the request of one of our parishioners for the conversion of Kim Jong Un. Why doesn’t that happen more often?”
When is the last time you prayed for or fasted for Nancy Pelosi? Or Joe Biden, or Elizabeth Warren or Bernie Sanders? They should be prayed for every single day…“When’s the last time you prayed and fasted for Ellen DeGeneres? Or Lady GaGa? Or Pink? I will that leave to more pious Catholics…
We should be praying for one-trick pony Catholics, i.e., those obsessed by freedom of choice.
Amen! Father Jonathan is right. We should be praying (and fasting) for the conversion of all, including our own on-going conversion(s). I think of some famous and notorious public sinners who may have no one to pray for them. After a terrorist leader, Qassem Soleimani, was killed by our military, although I didn’t want to at first, we prayed for the repose of his soul. Jesus commands us to love and pray for our enemies. (Sometimes my faith and life aren’t what they should be and I’m like the sceptic Mark Twain, “It’s not the parts of the Bible that I don’t understand that bother me, it’s the parts that I do understand.”). Especially as we begin Lent/Great Fast, we’re reminded to forgive others. As Eastern Catholics, our liturgical prayers includes a prayer that even our enemies become our brothers.
The Blessed Virgin Mary prays for every sinner.
Prince William is on my list…Of course we all have people closer to us who need prayers for conversion. Gotta be the St. Monica!
I always pray for wayward Catholic politicians– and wayward clerics, also! But I also love to mention to our priests and prelates, on particularly relevant occasions (special Masses, and church events) “what do you think of having a big talk with (let’s say, for example– Nancy and Paul Pelosi)– and insist on Catechism training, as they are obviously not going to get kicked out of the Church, for their support for immoral, heretical beliefs and causes?? How about insisting on some good Catholic religious and moral training?” The stupid reply is usually that “you should love your neighbor at church, even if they have different beliefs– which they are entitled to! Showing our love for them, is more important than arguing about personal beliefs!” Then I will say– “But what about love for all those poor, innocent babies getting killed, at Planned Parenthood? Don’t you care?” Next, I usually hear, “Well, everyone is entitled to their own opinion, on abortion!” So IGNORANT!! And when discussing this with faithful clerics, I usually hear– “Well, I agree with you– but in Vatican II, everyone is “free” to believe as their conscience dictates– and no, we don’t much excommunicate people, anymore– nor do we harass people on religion anymore, either!” So– very hopeless! “Clerics behaving badly”– not doing their jobs, for Christ!
Anon: I am a Catholic Priest and the reason I don’t talk to Nancy Pelosi like that or some other big figure is that I can’t get close to them. I have, however, spoken to my own Congresswoman like that and still pray for her. She says she is a Catholic, went to Catholic high school and used to visit our Church and school from time to time. She no longer comes around. Maybe she’s afraid of me, maybe she has some other reason. But at least she knows where I stand and where the Church stands on such issues.
As for this Priest, I pray for the wisdom, courage and strength to preach more like him. And I pray for him that he continues to enjoy his preaching and ministry. Being tough isn’t always easy, but it always should be joyful!
Father with all respect I am tired of playing kiissee face with enemies of the Faith, these souls are lost and chosen to be lost. Mind you in the coming persecution they will be cheering on mine, yours and the rest of Faithful murder. I am not a good enough to pray for evil like these.
Fr. Higgins, some priests and prelates have famous, wayward “Catholic” politicians in their own parishes and Dioceses– but never try to convert them! And at big Masses and social events, these wayward “Catholic” politicians may only receive praise– as celebrities! A cleric should avoid that— and seek to preach the Gospel, and try to convert them! This also has bothered me, over the years, because it is also a bad example, for children to see “bad” famous Catholics receive praise, from their priests and prelates!
It is much better, for the Church’s administration– the big Pope and his bishops– to handle official matters of Church teaching, and serious issues of excommunication! The local Bishop of a Diocese should definitely handle this matter, not local parish priests, making individual decisions, and possibly not agreeing with each other! It also gives the Church, overall, more security, to have a definite, formal decision, handed down by the Bishop– based on Canon Law, from the Vatican!
And, of course, we should not forget Ronald Reagan. As our governor, he helped liberalize abortion law. Yet, he subsequently realized his tragic error and spent the rest of his life, including that of his presidency, trying to rectify that. “Pray for kings and all those in authority.” (1 Tim. 2:2)
Prayer works. Don’t give up. Especially the Rosary. Add Mary Undoer of Knots devotion. Every time you think of someone who needs reversion or conversion just say an Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be Also, St. Michael prayer.. Have as pure a heart as you can. Don’t pray for them because you want them to do something for you and your agenda. Pray for them so that they will be happy for eternity and so that Jesus and Mary will be happy. Then give thanks for having your prayer heard. When you can’t pray for someone, it means your heart is hardened so pray for your own conversion.
This is so inspiring! Let’s not forget to pray and fast for those in the media. I pray they desire to only report facts, even if they may not agree or understand them. Maybe someday they will understand the other side.
I’ve also been praying for human traffickers and those who attack the Church. It’s the right thing to do and it feels good giving them to the Lord.
Remember the Catechism of the Catholic Church; PART THREE LIFE IN CHRIST SECTION ONE – MAN’S VOCATION LIFE IN THE SPIRIT
CHAPTER ONE – THE DIGNITY OF THE HUMAN PERSON – ARTICLE 4 – THE MORALITY OF HUMAN ACTS
Mainly, “The end does not justify the means”. We should not elect a terribly flawed, sinful, UNREPENTANT person with the hopes that this person might, possibly do something good for someone. We should elect a flawed, REPENTANT person to the position of leadership, Again, the good and wonderful end does not justify the means of getting there. We must send a diabolic person to do God’s work.
I pray for the conversion of people who are doing serious evil, but I also usually pray that God renders them harmless in anyway he sees fit before they do more harm to the innocent. Since he is all knowing, he knows if they will ever repent..
The book of Psalms was my first prayer book and still is my favorite one, and it contains such prayers.
Regarding my last post, I should have written that the book of Psalms still is ONE of my favorite prayer books.