We Are Our Mother of Perpetual Help Parish

A Prayer for Pope Francis

Loving and Merciful God,

We come before You in prayer, lifting up Your servant, Pope Francis, in his time of need. You are the
Source of all healing, and we ask You to surround him with Your loving presence, granting him
strength and recovery. May Your divine grace rest upon him, restoring his health and filling him with
renewed vigor to continue leading Your Church with compassion and wisdom.

“But I will restore you to health and heal your wounds, declares the Lord.”
(Jeremiah 30:17)

We place Pope Francis into Your hands, trusting in Your eternal care. May he be comforted by the
love of the Church and the prayers of all the faithful. We ask, through the intercession of the Blessed
Virgin Mary, that his recovery be swift, and his spirit be strengthened in Your peace.
May Your will be done in his life, O Lord, and may Your healing power be with him always.

We offer this prayer in the name of Your Son, Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with You in the unity
of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.

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A Christian prayer in union with Creation

Father, we praise you with all your creatures.

They came forth from your all-powerful hand;

they are yours, filed with your presence and your tender love.

Son of God, Jesus,

through you all things were made.

You were formed in the womb of Mary our Mother,

you became part of this earth,

and you gazed upon this world with human eyes.

Today you are alive in every creature

in your risen glory.

Praise be to you!

Holy Spirit, by your light

you guide this world towards the Father's love

and accompany creation as it groans in travail.

You also dwell in our hearts

and you inspire us to do what is good.

Praise be to you!

Triune Lord, wondrous community of infinite love,

teach us to contemplate you

in the beauty of the universe,

for all things speak of you.

Awaken our praise and thankfulness

for every being that you have made.

Give us the grace to feel profoundly joined to everything that is.

God of love, show us our place in this world

as channels of your love

for all the creatures of this earth,

for not one of them is forgotten in your sight.

Enlighten those who possess power and money

that they may avoid the sin of indifference,

that they may love the common good, advance the weak,

and care for this world in which we live.

The poor and the earth are crying out.

O Lord, seize us with your power and light,

help us to protect all life,

to prepare for a better future,

for the coming of your Kingdom

of justice, peace, love and beauty.

Praise be to you!

Amen.

Read Laudato Si'

America Magazine's

Top Ten Takeaways from Laudato Si

Pope Francis may be back in Rome, but the loving and powerful words spoken throughout his time in the United States aren’t something we’ll soon forget. Here’s a list of some of our favorite quotes from his visit:

1. “Joy springs from a grateful heart.” — Vespers, Saint Patrick’s Cathedral, New York City

2. “Let us treat others with the same passion and compassion with which we want to be treated. Let us seek for others the same possibilities which we seek for ourselves. Let us help others to grow, as we would like to be helped ourselves. In a word, if we want security, let us give security; if we want life, let us give life; if we want opportunities, let us provide opportunities. The yardstick we use for others will be the yardstick which time will use for us.” — Address to Congress, Washington D.C.

3. “When a country is determined to remain true to its founding principles, based on respect for human dignity, it is strengthened and renewed.” –Address at Independence Mall, Philadelphia

4. “Like happiness, holiness is always tied to little gestures.” — Mass of Canonization of Junipero Serra, Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Washington D.C.

5. “Once we come to realize how much God has given us, a life of self-sacrifice, of working for him and for others, becomes a privileged way of responding to his great love.” — Vespers, Saint Patrick’s Cathedral, New York City

6. “We don’t want apathy to guide our lives” — Mass of Canonization of Junipero Serra, Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Washington D.C.

7. “We, the people of this continent, are not fearful of foreigners, because most of us were once foreigners.” — Address to Congress, Washington D.C.

8. “Love is something we learn; love is something we live; love grows as it is “forged” by the concrete situations which each particular family experiences. Love is born and constantly develops amid lights and shadows.” — Festival of Families, Philadelphia

9. “A political society endures when it seeks, as a vocation, to satisfy common needs by stimulating the growth of all its members, especially those in situations of greater vulnerability or risk. Legislative activity is always based on care for the people.” — Address to Congress, Washington D.C.

10. “For all our differences and disagreements, we can live in a world of peace.” — Multi-religious service at 9/11 Memorial and Museum, New York City

11. “We know in faith that Jesus seeks us out. He wants to heal our wounds, to soothe our feet which hurt from traveling alone, to wash each of us clean of the dust from our journey. He doesn’t ask us where we have been, he doesn’t question us what about we have done.” — Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility, Philadelphia

12. “It’s beautiful to have dreams; it is also beautiful to fight for those dreams. Today, we have to keep dreaming.” — Our Lady Queen of Angels School, East Harlem

13. “Knowing that Jesus still walks our streets, that he is part of the lives of his people, that he is involved with us in one vast history of salvation, fills us with hope. A hope which liberates us from the forces pushing us to isolation and lack of concern for the lives of others, for the life of our city.” — Mass at Madison Square Garden, New York City

14. “Together we are called to say “no” to every attempt to impose uniformity and “yes” to a diversity accepted and reconciled. This can only happen if we uproot from our hearts all feelings of hatred, vengeance and resentment.” –Multi-religious service at 9/11 Memorial and Museum, New York City

15. “In a world where various forms of modern tyranny seek to suppress religious freedom, or try to reduce it to a subculture without right to a voice in the public square, or to use religion as a pretext for hatred and brutality, it is imperative that the followers of the various religions join their voices in calling for peace, tolerance and respect for the dignity and rights of others.” — Address at Independence Mall, Philadelphia