Missionary Month 2024
We start the Missionary Month 2024 with a prayer The most beautiful wedding between Earth and Heaven, is offered to us through Jesus. The Father invites everyone: “Come to the banquet!” Despite any indifference or refusal, let us go out tirelessly, let us reach out to people, to those who are far and distant: “Everyone is invited to the banquet!” Where we find joy and justice, sharing and fraternity. “Come to the most desired banquet!” Unconditional love calls us to be in communion with Him and with each other. Fr. Yoland Ouellet, OMI, National Director of the Pontifical Mission Societies Francophone Canada Inspired by Pope Francis’ Message for World Mission Day 2024
Message for the care of Creation
MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS POPE FRANCIS FOR THE WORLD DAY OF PRAYER FOR THE CARE OF CREATION 1st September 2024 Hope and Act with Creation Dear Brothers and Sisters! “Hope and Act with Creation” is the theme of the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, to be held on 1 September 2024. The theme is drawn from Saint Paul’s Letter to the Romans (8:19-25), where the Apostle explains what it means for us to live according to the Spirit and focuses on the sure hope of salvation that is born of faith, namely, newness of life in Christ. 1. Let us begin with a question, one perhaps without an immediately obvious answer. If we are truly believers, how did we come to have faith? It is not simply because we believe in something transcendent, beyond the power of reason, the unattainable mystery of a distant and…
Prayer for compassion
God our Creator, we pray to you: To us who are far from those we love, that we are reminded to find ways to be your love and tenderness for our neighbor. May the restrictions we know remind us of the daily challenges to human dignity, life and fundamental security that so many women, men and children in our world go through. We who are healthy, Let us remember those who do not have access to basic health care. We who restrict our movements, let us remember those who have no refuge to go to. We who have a social safety net, let us remember our sisters and brothers whose situation is getting worse. That the concern we feel for the lives of our elders encourage us to love and cherish every person that we meet every day. In the face of fear, let us choose love, peace and hope.…
The prayer against human trafficking
Let us pray: Saint Josephine Bakhita, you were sold into slavery as a child and endured unspeakable hardship and suffering. Once liberated from your physical enslavement, you found true redemption in your encounter with Christ and his Church. O Saint Josephine Bakhita, assist all those who are entrapped in slavery; Intercede on their behalf with the God of Mercy so that the chains of their captivity will be broken. May God himself free all those who have been threatened, wounded or mistreated by the trade and trafficking of human beings. Bring comfort to survivors of this slavery and teach them to look to Jesus as an example of hope and faith so that they may find healing from their wounds. We ask you to pray for us and to intercede on behalf of us all: that we may not fall into indifference, that we may open our eyes and…
Prayer for the 26th General Chapter 2023
Triune God, Source of inspiration and communion, We praise you for sharing your boundless love for us through the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave his whole life for humanity. He leads us in his mission to be docile to the creative newness of the Holy Spirit. We thank you for our beloved Congregation which, for 153 years, has been rooted in the passion for Christ and his mission in the heart of Cardinal Lavigerie, our founder, of Mother Marie-Salomé and our sisters of all generations. We thank you for calling and sending us as women apostles, among the countless messengers of your Word, to Africa and among its peoples everywhere. We entrust to you our next 26th General Chapter. May the breath of your Holy Spirit inspire us during its preparation and lovingly guide our discernment and our journey together. Faithful to the Gospel and to our charism, may our…
2022 Season of Creation Prayer
Creator of All, From your communion of love your Word went forth to create a symphony of life that sings your praise. By your Holy Wisdom you made the Earth to bring forth a diversity of creatures who praise you in their being. You called human beings to till and keep your garden. But we turn in on ourselves and away from our co-creatures. We fail to listen to the cries of the poor and the needs of the most vulnerable. We silence the voices of those who hold the traditions that teach us to care for the Earth. We close our ears to your creative, reconciling and sustaining Word that calls to us through the Scriptures. Creation cries out as forests crackle, and animals alike flee the fires of injustice that we have lit by our unwillingness to listen. In this Season of Creation, we…
Easter wishes
This year, the spring time brings together the major festivals of the three monotheistic religions: – Pessa’h 5782, which reminds the Jews of the liberating exit from Egypt – Aïd al-Fitr 1443, which closes the Muslim Ramadan fast; – Christian Passover 2022, celebrating Jesus’ victory over death. Can we take this opportunity to wish each other happy feast and “to share our joys and sorrows” as the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue invites us to do? We remember the suffering caused by the global pandemic. We all feel the violent tremors of war in the Ukraine and other countries. Natural disasters will continue. But all this must not extinguish our hope because Jesus has defeated evil and death. A hymn by Robert Lebel which can be found on the web carries this hope: Easter, spring of God! Easter, spring of the world! Easter, spring of the heart! Easter of Jesus-Christ.…
A prayer for our earth
A prayer for our earth All-powerful God, you are present in the whole universe and in the smallest of your creatures. You embrace with your tenderness all that exists. Pour out upon us the power of your love, that we may protect life and beauty. Fill us with peace, that we may live as brothers and sisters, harming no one. O God of the poor, help us to rescue the abandoned and forgotten of this earth, so precious in your eyes. Bring healing to our lives, that we may protect the world and not prey on it, that we may sow beauty, not pollution and destruction. Touch the hearts of those who look only for gain at the expense of the poor and the earth. Teach us to discover the worth of each thing, to be filled with awe and contemplation, to recognize that we are profoundly united with every…
Prayer for peace
Lord God of peace, hear our prayer! We have tried so many times and over so many years to resolve our conflicts by our own powers and by the force of our arms. How many moments of hostility and darkness have we experienced; how much blood has been shed; how many lives have been shattered; how many hopes have been buried… But our efforts have been in vain. Now, Lord, come to our aid! Grant us peace, teach us peace; guide our steps in the way of peace. Open our eyes and our hearts, and give us the courage to say: “Never again war!”; “With war everything is lost”. Instill in our hearts the courage to take concrete steps to achieve peace. Lord, God of Abraham, God of the Prophets, God of Love, you created us and you call us to live as brothers and sisters. Give us the strength…
