Prayer for the World November 11, 2026
Common Good
Introduction: We are at a new moment in our country after the mid-term elections and there are those who are happy about the outcome and those who are not, which is true of every election. How different it might be, if we realized that “… we are connected to one another as a political community in our shared commitment to a fundamental purpose: to promote the general welfare.”
Song: "May All I Do Today" by Jan Navotka
May all I do today, be for the healing of the whole.
May all I do today mend our broken world.
May all I do today bring blessing on the earth.
May all I do today be for the good of all, all I do today.
Readings:
The quote in the introduction to our prayer today is from an article by Gregory Kalscheur on the Preamble of our Constitution. In the article he focuses on the phrase in the opening sentence, “We the People …” as the foundation of the Constitution. It calls us to remember that we are connected to one another as a political community committed to promote the general welfare. In Catholic social thought, this is referred to as the common good. He describes this as
… working together to build a community characterized by institutions, structures and civic virtues that recognize and protect the inherent equal dignity of the person and allow all persons (not just all citizens) in the community to flourish in the fullness of their equal human dignity.
Kalscheur asks a most pertinent question for all of us, no matter our political party: What will most effectively promote the general welfare at this moment in our history — and what will most effectively allow all persons in our national community to flourish, a challenge that demands a response from us.
-- ‘We the People’ and a Common Purpose: How the Constitution calls on us to do the work. America, November 2026
Quiet Reflection and Prayer
As we move forward, Pope Leo speaks to how we can make positive change together in his Apostolic Exhortation, “Dilexi Te,” where he quotes Pope Francis:
Charity has the power to change reality; it is a genuine force for change in history. It is the source that must inspire and guide every effort to “resolve the structural causes of poverty,” and to do so with urgency. It is my hope that we will see more and more "politicians capable of sincere and effective dialogue aimed at healing the deepest roots — and not simply the appearances — of the evils in our world.” For “it is a matter of hearing the cry of entire peoples, the poorest peoples of the earth.”
Prayer: And so we pray -- (Our response: Have mercy, O God)
That we, especially our newly elected officials, may listen to the voices of the poor and powerless in our society, we pray:
That we may work together to build a society, where all people may flourish, we pray:
That we may learn to better listen and learn from one another rather than creating “winners and losers” in our discourse, we pray:
God of love, show us our place in this world as channels of your love for all creatures of this earth, for not one of them is forgotten in your sight. Enlighten those who possess power and money that they may avoid the sin of indifference, that they may love the common good, advance the weak, and care for this world in which we live. The poor and the earth are crying out. O Lord, seize us with your power and light, help us to protect all life, to prepare for a better future, for the coming of your Kingdom of justice, peace, love and beauty. Praise be to you!
Amen.
— Pope Francis, Given at St. Peter’s in Rome, Pentecost, May 24, 2015
Song: "May All I Do Today"
