Pope: May Mary inspire the leaders of nations to seek paths of peace
By Linda Bordoni
Consecrating our lives, the Church and the world to the Queen of Peace, Pope Francis prayed to the Mother of God to touch the hearts of those imprisoned by hatred, and convert those who fuel and foment conflict.
May the Virgin Mary, he implored, “inspire the leaders of nations to seek paths of peace. Queen of all peoples, reconcile your children, seduced by evil, blinded by power and hate.“
Day of Prayer, Fasting and Penance for Peace
The Holy Father raised his prayer during a prayer service in St Peter’s Basilica on Friday evening at the culmination of a Day of Prayer, Fasting and Penance for Peace that he called for in the context of the devastating wave of violence unfolding in the Holy Land.
Announcing the initiative on 18 October, the Pope extended his invitation to join the Day of Prayer to “the various Christian confessions, members of other religions, and all who hold the cause of peace in the world at heart.”
Presiding at the prayer service that alternated gospel readings, prayers and meditations as well as the Rosary and with Adoration and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament, the Pope turned to Our Lady asking her to look at us: “We stand here before you. You are our Mother, and you know our struggles and our hurts."
At this dark hour, the Pope prayed, “we entrust ourselves and our problems to your maternal heart which knows our anxieties and fears.”
Alone we cannot succeed
Invoking her as a beacon of light and a source of hope, he recalled how Mary always responded to the trials she endured with tenderness, love, and acceptance and he prayed for her help “to keep alive the hope of Easter through the night of sorrow.”
The Holy Father prayed to Mary to again “take the initiative for us, in these times rent by conflicts and laid waste by the fire of arms,“ because by ourselves we cannot succeed.
“Turn your eyes of mercy towards our human family, which has strayed from the path of peace,” Pope Francis prayed, and invoked her to “Intercede for our world, in such turmoil and great danger.”
“Teach us to cherish and care for life – each and every human life! – and to repudiate the folly of war, which sows death and eliminates the future,” he said.
Recalling that Mary has often urged us to pray and repent, the Pope said our worldly distractions have often led us astray: “Help us once again to put God first.”
He continued: “By ourselves, we cannot succeed“; without your Son, we can do nothing. And appealed for peace and conversion he “You bring us back to Jesus, who is our Peace.”
“Dry the tears of children, be present to those who are elderly and alone; strengthen the wounded and the sick; protect those forced to leave their lands and their loved ones; console the crestfallen; awaken new hope,” Pope Francis implored.
Consecration to Mary's Immaculate Heart
Entrusting and consecrating ourselves and all we possess to Mary’s Immaculate Heart, the Pope said: “To you we consecrate the Church, so that in her witness to the love of Jesus before the world, she may be a sign of harmony and an instrument of peace.”
The Pope concluded by praying that a “glimmer of light may illumine the dark night of conflict,” and that the leaders of nations may seek paths of peace.
“Queen of all peoples, reconcile your children, seduced by evil, blinded by power and hate. You, who are close to all, shorten our distances. You, who have compassion on everyone, teach us to care for one another. You, who reveal the Lord’s tender love, make us witnesses of his consolation and peace. Queen of Peace, pour forth into our hearts God’s gift of harmony.”
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