Prayer for Peace and Protection from Violence and Terrorism – Pope Francis

Pope Francis made an unscheduled stop at a Krakow church today to venerate the relics of two martyred, now-beatified Polish missionaries in Peru killed in the 1990s by the latter’s Communist-inspired Shining Path guerrillas – They were the Polish Franciscan Fathers Zbigniew Strzałkowski and Michał Tomaszek.

During the visit, the Pope debuted a “Prayer for Peace and Protection from Violence and Terrorism,”

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O almighty and merciful God, Lord of the universe and of history. All that You have created is good and your compassion for the mistakes of mankind knows no limits.

We come to You today to ask You to keep in peace the world and its people, to keep far away from it the devastating wave of terrorism, to restore friendship and instill in the hearts of your creatures the gift of trust and of readiness to forgive.

O Giver of life, we pray to You also for all those who have died as victims of brutal terrorist attacks. Grant them their eternal reward. May they intercede for the world that is torn apart by conflicts and disagreements.

O Jesus, Prince of Peace, we pray to You for the ones who have been wounded in these acts of inhuman violence: children and young people, old people and innocent people accidentally involved in evil. Heal their bodies and hearts; console them with Your strength and, at the same time, take away any hatred and a desire for revenge.

Holy Spirit Consoler, visit the families of the victims of terrorism, families that suffer through no fault of their own. Wrap them in the mantle of Your divine mercy. Make them find again in You and in themselves the strength and courage to continue to be brothers and sisters for others, above all for immigrants, giving witness to Your love by their lives.

Touch the hearts of terrorists so that they may recognize the evil of their actions and may turn to the way of peace and goodness, of respect for the life and for the dignity of every human being, regardless of religion, origin, wealth or poverty.

O God, Eternal Father, in Your mercy hear our prayer which we raise up to You amidst the deafening noise and desperation of the world. We turn to You with great hope, full of trust in Your infinite Mercy. Made strong by the examples of the blessed martyrs of Perú, Zbigniew and Michael, who have rendered courageous testimony to the Gospel, to the point of offering their blood, we entrust ourselves to the intercession of Your Most Holy Mother. We ask for the gift of peace and of the elimination from our midst of the sore of terrorism.

Through Christ our Lord.
Amen.

2016 WYD Way of the Cross

WYD Way of the Cross (.pdf)

The 2016 World Youth Day Way of the Cross links the stations of Christ’s Passion to the corporal and spiritual works of mercy.

The text was written by Auxiliary Bishop of Krakow Grzegorz Ryś, who is a Church historian and responsible for the New Evangelisation in the Polish Episcopal Conference.

 

Oz and WYD

Pope Francis @ WYD Krakow Poland

“To be attracted by power, by grandeur, by appearances, is tragically human. It is a great temptation that tries to insinuate itself everywhere. But to give oneself to others, eliminating distances, dwelling in littleness and living the reality of one’s everyday life: this is exquisitely divine.”

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Visit to Auschwitz – Upon leaving, the Pope signed the Book of Honour with the following words: “Lord, have mercy on your people. Lord, forgiveness for so much cruelty!” Franciscus, 29.7.2016.

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After visit of Pope Francis to Auschwitz – “How much pain! How much cruelty! How is it possible that we humans, created in the likeness of God, are cabable of doing these things?”

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Pope Francis – WYD The Way of the Cross

Pope Francis – World Youth Day 2016 – Way of the Cross Homily:

The Lord once more asks you to be in the forefront of serving others. He wants to make of you a concrete response to the needs and sufferings of humanity. He wants you to be signs of his merciful love for our time! To enable you to carry out this mission, he shows you the way of personal commitment and self-sacrifice. It is the Way of the Cross. The Way of the Cross is the way of fidelity in following Jesus to the end, in the often dramatic situations of everyday life. It is a way that fears no lack of success, ostracism or solitude, because it fills ours hearts with the fullness of Jesus. The Way of the Cross is the way of God’s own life, his “style”, which Jesus brings even to the pathways of a society at times divided, unjust and corrupt.

The Way of the Cross is not an exercise in sadomasochism; the Way of the Cross alone defeats sin, evil and death, for it leads to the radiant light of Christ’s resurrection and opens the horizons of a new and fuller life. It is the way of hope, the way of the future. Those who take up this way with generosity and faith give hope to the future and to humanity. Those who take up this way with generosity and faith sow seeds of hope. I want you to be sowers of hope.

Dear young people, on that Good Friday many disciples went back crestfallen to their homes. Others chose to go out to the country to forget the cross. I ask you: but I want each of you to answer in silence in the depths of your heart. How do you want to go back this evening to your own homes, to the places where you are staying, to your tents? How do you want to go back this evening to be alone with your thoughts? The world is watching us. Each of you has to answer the challenge that this question sets before you.