“This will give the church the occasion to pray for Our Lady’s continued protection of the vulnerable, healing of the unwell and wisdom for those who work to cure this terrible virus,” said Archbishop Gomez in a letter to the U.S. bishops. Each year, the church seeks the special intercession of the Mother of God during the month of May.
This is a translation of the prayer Pope Francis recited by video March 11 for a special Mass and act of prayer asking Mary to protect Italy and the world during of the coronavirus pandemic.
In a video message broadcast March 11, the pope prayed before a portrait of Our Lady of Divine Love, beseeching her to “not disdain the entreaties of we who are in trial” but to “deliver us from every danger.”
The Christ Child is the source of light in the painting. The edges of the scene are nearly in darkness reminiscent of John’s Gospel: “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
During Christmas season, pray with our area religious communities, bishop.
Catholic and Protestant readers are likely to find these two books both inspiring and informative when it comes to nourishing a healthy, theologically balanced attitude toward Mary.
Medjugorje, Bosnia-Herzegovina, is a place of prayer, conversion and pilgrimage for millions of people, but the church must be prudent and not rush to any judgment on the alleged Marian apparitions there, said Archbishop Rino Fisichella, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting New Evangelization.
The Catholic Church doesn’t often add new celebrations to its pretty full liturgical calendar, but this year’s new feast day, Mary, Mother of the Church on May 21, has Catholics gearing up to mark the day or at least think a little more about Mary.
