Mother Of Peace, Pray For Us

On this Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, the Church prays for peace throughout the world. In his message for the World Day of Peace, Pope Francis asks all people of good will to pray especially for enslaved men and women, whose fundamental rights are suppressed and abused.

The Holy Father calls us “to forge a new worldwide solidarity and fraternity” with those who live clandestinely:

I invite everyone, in accordance with his or her specific role and responsibilities, to practice acts of fraternity towards those kept in a state of enslavement.  Let us ask ourselves, as individuals and as communities, whether we feel challenged when, in our daily lives, we meet or deal with persons who could be victims of human trafficking, or when we are tempted to select items, which may well have been produced by exploiting others.  Some of us, out of indifference, or financial reasons, or because we are caught up in our daily concerns, close our eyes to this.  Others, however, decide to do something about it, to join civic associations or to practice small, everyday gestures—which have so much merit!—such as offering a kind word, a greeting or a smile.  These cost us nothing but they can offer hope, open doors, and change the life of another person who lives clandestinely; they can also change our own lives with respect to this reality.

Let us open our eyes to the exploitation of the enslaved, and let us answer Pope Francis’s universal prayer intention this month, by working together with others for peace.  

Oh Mary, who gave birth to Peace Himself, please bring peace to all of those who do not live in freedom.