Dear brothers and sisters, today we have gathered together, all the Christians of the world, to pray together the Our Father, the prayer that Jesus taught us.As trustful children we turn to the Father. We do it every day, several times a day; but right now we wish to beg mercy for mankind, so sorely tried by the coronavirus pandemic. And we do this together, Christians of every Church and Community, of every age, language, and nation.We pray for the sick and their families; for health care workers and those who help them; for the authorities, law enforcement agencies and volunteers; for the ministers of our communities.Today many of us celebrate the Incarnation of the Word in the womb of the Virgin Mary, when her humble and total “here I am” reflected the “here I am” of the Son of God. We too entrust ourselves, with full confidence, to the hands of God, and with one heart and one soul we pray:
With these moving words, Pope Francis led all of Christendom in the prayer that Jesus taught us, begging God for an end of the pandemic.
The Holy Father had reiterated the petition at the end of the general audience some minutes before:
“May the good and merciful Father grant the united supplication of his children, who with confident hope raise their voices to his Omnipotence.”
The call to prayer was announced by Pope Francis on Sunday, after he prayed the midday Angelus.
He has also invited the world to join him this Friday for Liturgy of the Word and Benediction, and the Vicar of Christ will impart the special blessing urbi et orbi: to the City of Rome, and the world.
You can join in with that prayer here at Aleteia, beginning at 6 pm Rome time, 1 pm EST.
Read more:
Pope gave special blessing on March 27, usually reserved for Christmas and Easter
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Special indulgences granted for COVID-19 victims, caregivers, those praying for them
And today we celebrate...