Prayers for Putin

Interceding for those who need it most

03/07/2022

Mt 25:31-46 Jesus said to his disciples: “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the nations will be assembled before him. And he will separate them one from another. He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.’ And the king will say to them in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.’

I am sure you have watched what is happening in Ukraine with the same heart-break and helplessness I feel. Every day – even every hour – I check the latest news to see if there has been any improvement, but nothing yet. Even the small glimmer of hope and humanity – trying to get civilians out of the teeth of the fighting – failed when Russia continued its attacks after agreeing to a cease-fire. Since February 24, when the invasion commenced, we have all been praying for peace and a quick resolution. We have prayed for the refugees, over one and a half million at present, who are now homeless. And we have prayed for all world leaders to exercise calm and caution so we don’t cross over the brink into World War III.

But do you know who we should really be praying for? We should be offering Masses, rosaries and sacrifices for the Russian president, Vladimir Putin. Has anyone said a Hail Mary for Putin yet? Maybe you’re thinking we should not pray for Putin, we should assassinate him. In a sense, that is "below" our paygrade, because Christians are at a "higher" paygrade. Why should we pray for Putin? Well, because Jesus taught us unequivocally in the Sermon on the Mount: “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”

In other words, Jesus is contrasting the justice taught in the Old Testament – the lex talionis, eye for an eye – with the justice of the New Testament, perfectly embodied by Jesus on the Cross, who prayed for his persecutors, the Roman soldiers hammering nails into his hands and feet. A very simple test of whether our faith is stuck in the Old Testament or has matured into New Testament faith is whether you can say a prayer for President Putin today. Can you say one sincere Hail Mary for him?

Besides the biblical basis, here is another reason to pray for Putin. It comes from the ancient Greek philosopher Plato, who put his teaching on the lips of his own teacher, Socrates. In a dialogue called “Gorgias,” Socrates argues that is it worse to commit a crime (even if you get away with it) than to suffer a crime to be done to you. In other words, it is worse to be rich with ill-gotten gains than to be poor but honest and humble.

Applying that principle to the war in Ukraine, President Putin who has launched an unprovoked attack on Ukraine and bombed apartments and even schools, is worse off – morally and spiritually – than the displaced refugees and those who have died. From the perspective of eternity, the poor Ukrainians who suffer now are in a better state than powerful Putin who sits comfortably eating caviar in the Kremlin, but whose eternal destiny is very much in danger. For that reason President Putin needs prayers far more than the persecuted and powerless Ukrainians.

Here is a third reason to pray for Putin. Prayer opens our eyes and helps us to see things, and especially see others, as God sees them. I often counsel people who are arguing and fighting – usually married couples – to pray for each other. Why? Prayer softens our hearts and sparks a soft glow of love for the person we are praying for. You cannot pray for someone and hate that person at the same time: there is not enough room in one human heart for both those dispositions. Prayer and hate are mutually exclusive.

When we say a prayer for President Putin, we begin to see him as God sees him, and a little less like how we see him. And that is a very different point of view because God is the Father of all people, even Russian presidents and oligarchs. Brothers and sisters may hate one another, but parents never hate their own children, no matter how evil their behavior. Prayer opens our eyes and our hearts to see and love like God does.

Today say one Hail Mary for President Vladimir Putin. And show you are a Christian worthy of the name, and earn your paygrade.

Praised be Jesus Christ!