Weekly Prayers of the Faithful

Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, February 16, 2025

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Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, February 16, 2025

We present our needs to the Father hoping in the Lord who is our light and our salvation. 

  1. That Pope Francis may have the strength, courage, and wisdom to lead the Church with fidelity, fortitude, and charity in a world that is beset with attitudes favoring conflict, self-interest, and destruction.  We pray to the Lord.
  2. That leaders and decision makers will not trust in human beings or seek strength in flesh but will trust in God and know God as their hope.  We pray to the Lord.
  3. That at this time of so much chaos in the world, we may take the beatitudes to heart and integrate them into our lives by caring for the poor, feeding the hungry, consoling those who weep, and rejoicing that even in these difficult times, the Lord is with us.  We pray to the Lord.
  4. That our actions at this “decisive moment in history [will] reaffirm not only our faith in a God who is always close, incarnate, migrant, and refugee, but also the infinite and transcendent dignity of every human person.”[1]  We pray to the Lord.
  5. That our consciences will be rightly formed so that we will “make critical judgment and express disagreement with any measure that tacitly or explicitly identifies the illegal status of some migrants with criminality.”[2] We pray to the Lord.
  6. That laws of our nation will recognize the fact that “the act of deporting people who have left their own land for reasons of extreme poverty, insecurity, exploitation, persecution or serious deterioration of the environment, damages the dignity of many men and women, and of entire families, and places them in a state of particular vulnerability and defenselessness.”[3] We pray to the Lord.
  7. That we will promote the common good creatively and respecting the rights of all by welcoming, protecting, promoting and integrating the most fragile, unprotected, and vulnerable into society.[4]  We pray to the Lord. 
  8. That we will not “give in to narratives that discriminate against and cause unnecessary suffering to our migrant and refugee brothers and sisters.”[5]  We pray to the Lord.
  9. That “with charity and clarity, [we will] live in solidarity and fraternity, build bridges that bring us ever closer together, avoid walls of ignominy, and learn to give our lives as Jesus Christ gave his for the salvation of all.”[6]  We pray to the Lord.
  10. That through the intercession of Our Lady of Guadalupe, individuals and families who live in fear or pain due to migration and/or deportation may be protected; and all people will take a step toward the construction of a society that is more fraternal, inclusive, and respectful of the dignity of all.[7]  We pray to the Lord. 
  11. That the presence of caregivers, medical professionals, family members, and friends will be a tangible expression of God’s love showing that suffering is not an isolated journey but one that unites us in faith, love, and solidarity.[8]  We pray to the Lord.
  12. That those who have died in the violence in Ukraine, Myanmar, the Middle East, Sudan, and other places ravaged by conflict will enjoy the eternal peace of heaven with all the angels and saints.  We pray to the Lord.

Heavenly Father, we are all migrants on this Earth as we seek to live in places that provide us with hope, security, and health.  May your answer to our prayers unite the fortunate and the unfortunate so that all people may travel together in fraternity and love.  We make these prayers through Christ our Lord.  Amen.

[1] Based on verse 1 of Letter of the Holy Father Francis to the Bishops of the United States of America, Feb 10, 2025.

[2] Based on verse 4 of Letter of the Holy Father Francis to the Bishops of the United States of America, Feb 10, 2025.

[3] Based on verse 4 of Letter of the Holy Father Francis to the Bishops of the United States of America, Feb 10, 2025.

[4] Based on verse 5 of Letter of the Holy Father Francis to the Bishops of the United States of America, Feb 10, 2025.

[5] Based on verse 9 of Letter of the Holy Father Francis to the Bishops of the United States of America, Feb 10, 2025.

[6] Based on verse 9 of Letter of the Holy Father Francis to the Bishops of the United States of America, Feb 10, 2025.

[7] Based on verse 10 of Letter of the Holy Father Francis to the Bishops of the United States of America, Feb 10, 2025.

[8] Based on a statement for the World Day of the Sick by Bishop Michael Router, Chair of the Irish Bishops’ Conference Council for Healthcare.  Feb 11, 2025.

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