This is Pope Leo XIV’s prayer intention for July, illustrated in The Pope Video, published today, Thursday, 3, through his Worldwide Prayer Network.

Knowing yourself to know God

In the video—produced by the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network in collaboration with the Diocese of Brooklyn —the Pope’s voice and a previously unreleased prayer to the Holy Spirit accompany the journey of a young woman in a forest, lost and in need of direction. She looks around, stops, frees herself from unnecessary burdens, and begins walking again using a compass and a map. She stops again, opens the Gospel, and comes to a grotto containing a statue of Mary: prayer, in silence and listening, shows her the right path. Pope Leo XIV’s prayer, asking the Holy Spirit for guidance and discernment on her journey, concludes with an Augustinian-inspired supplication:

Grant me a better understanding of what moves me, so that I may reject that which distances me from Christ, and thus love and serve Him more fully.

Indeed, the Bishop of Hippo writes in his Confessions that self-knowledge leads to an ever-deeper knowledge of God: to discern, one must place oneself in the truth before God, enter into oneself, admit one’s weaknesses, and ask the Lord to heal us. From this, one can be reborn through an authentic relationship with God.

Recognizing the voice of Jesus

The art of discernment, already recommended by Saint Paul (Rom 12:2) at the beginning of the Church’s history, is more necessary today than ever, underlines a note from the Worldwide Prayer Network, distributed as a commentary on the video with the Pope’s intentions for the month of July. Today, it reads, the speed with which changes occur today, the vast amount of information available—and not always accurate—, the apparent reality created by artificial intelligence, and the complexity of global challenges, among other factors, make discernment an essential skill for making wise decisions that allow us to live a good life and bring us closer to God. “Amid the rush of daily life, we must learn to pause and create sacred moments for prayer,” comments Monsignor Robert J. Brennan, Bishop of Brooklyn. “It is in these silent spaces of attentive listening,” the prelate continues, “that we discover which paths truly matter and find the discernment to choose what truly leads to the joy that only comes from God.”

An aid to better exercise freedom

In this regard, the International Director of the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network, Fr. Cristóbal Fones, SJ, explains that “formation for discernment is fundamental for navigating a complex world. It includes prayer, personal reflection, the study of Scripture, and spiritual guidance. Cultivating a deep relationship with Jesus is paramount, as this way we can recognize his voice amidst the many voices of the world and have the clarity necessary to make our decisions based on a more human purpose and horizon.”

Discernment is also essential for our happiness: “Today’s culture,” Father Fones continues, “presents happiness to us as an end, and tends to identify it with well-being. However, for Saint Ignatius of Loyola, in whose spirituality discernment occupies a very important position, it is rather a consequence: we have been created to go beyond ourselves, learning to love and give of ourselves, to serve others and unite ourselves to God. Along this path—the path of Jesus, the path of the heart, which is certainly contrary to the prevailing egocentric and utilitarian culture—happiness is achieved.” “Saint Ignatius offers us rules of discernment to feel and understand what is happening within us, the impulses and movements of our spirit, so that we can choose what helps us to love and be loved, and reject what hinders us. Spiritual discernment helps us better exercise our freedom.”

The Video Prayer

In the context of the Holy Year 2025, The Pope Video takes on special relevance, because it reveals the prayer intentions the Holy Father holds in his heart. The faithful who wish to receive the graces of the Jubilee indulgence should pray for the Pontiff’s intentions. Here is the full text of the Pope’s previously unpublished prayer to the Holy Spirit, contained in the video released today:

Holy Spirit, light of our understanding,

sweet breath in our decisions,

give me the grace to listen attentively to your voice

to discern the secret ways of my heart,

in order to capture what is really important to you

and free my heart from its afflictions.

I ask you for the grace to learn to stop

to become aware of my way of acting,

of the feelings that dwell in me,

of the thoughts that invade me,

and that, many times, I fail to recognize.

I wish my choices

They lead me to the joy of the Gospel.

Even if you have to go through moments of doubt and tiredness,

Even if I have to fight, reflect, search, and start over…

Because, at the end of the day,

Your comfort is the fruit of the right decision.

Grant me a better understanding of what moves me,

to reject that which distances me from Christ,

and thus love and serve him more.

Amen.