Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle on Thursday issued a prayer to be said by the clergy and the faithful at all Sunday masses of August.
“His Eminence [Cardinal Tagle] also invites us to be aware and discerning of the many disturbing issues in our society today. We are invited to respond in faith and hope through our common prayer,” according to Circular 2019-34 on the Prayer for the Nation signed by Fr. Reginald Malicdem, Chancellor of the Archdiocese.
The prayer, written in English and Tagalog, will be prayed at all Sunday masses, including the evening masses of Saturday, for the whole month beginning Aug. 4.
The circular dated Aug. 1, is addressed to all clergy and superiors of religious men and women in the archdiocese.
Also, the head of the Archdiocese of Manila asked them to pray for the members of the Catholic Church particularly those who are victims of false accusations.
“Our dear Archbishop, Cardinal Luis Antonio G. Tagle, is asking all of us, priests, religious men and women, and lay faithful in the Archdiocese of Manila, to offer our Masses and prayer for all our bishops and priests, especially those who suffer because of persecutions and false accusations,” the directive said.
“Let our prayers be the best expression of our solidarity and fraternal support for them,” it added.
Excerpts from the prayer:
PRAYER FOR THE NATION
Almighty and merciful God
You have brought us together in the name of your Son Jesus.
We beg for your mercy and grace in our time of need.
Open our eyes to see the evil that we have done.
Forgive us for failing to do what is good and just.
Touch our hearts and bring us back to You.
We pray for an end to the violence perpetrated by harsh words,
malicious propaganda, deadly weapons, or cold indifference.
May our homes, our nation, and our world become havens of Your peace.
Grant us the grace to see every human being as a child of God, regardless of race, language, or culture, even drug addicts, criminals, and hardened sinners.
Give us the strength to teach our children and youth how to resolve differences non-violently and respectfully.
May elders become models of decent and honorable behavior.
We entrust to your mercy those who hate the Church and spread
prejudice against our Catholic faith.
Illumine their minds with the light of your truth.
Touch their hearts with your love.
Inspire those in public office to uphold, preserve, promote, and
defend the dignity of every human being and acknowledge you, our God,
as the Source and Lord of all life.
Touch the hearts of those who oppress others and those who take the
law in their own hands.
Touch the consciences of the perpetrators of heinous crimes, violence,
senseless, and indiscriminate killings.
Move them to abandon their pride and their instruments of destruction.
We also remember the police and first responders who risk their lives
daily to ensure our safety.
May they also be instruments of fair and just law enforcement that
guarantees the dignity of persons and promotes truth, peace, and
wellbeing in society.
We lift up to you our bishops, priests, consecrated persons, and lay
faithful who suffer from misunderstanding, false accusations, and
persecution on account of their faith and their promotion of justice.
Grant them holy joy that will see them through the dark nights of suffering.
Welcome to your eternal feast in heaven the people who died in
senseless brutal organized killings, including priests who have lost
their lives in the pursuit of truth and justice.
With St. Paul, we say:
“We are afflicted in every way, but not constrained; perplexed, but
not driven to despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but
not destroyed; always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus,
so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our body.” (2
Corinthians 4:8-10).
Since you, O God, are with us, nothing that has happened, nothing
still to come, can rob us of our hope in Christ.
In your enduring love we trust.
You alone can heal our broken hearts.
You alone can wipe away the tears that well up inside us.
You alone can give us peace.
You alone can strengthen us to persevere.
Assure those who are discouraged that with you nothing is impossible.
Filled and invigorated by the Holy Spirit, may our love for one
another be deepened.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Mary, Mother of Hope, pray for us.
St. Michael the Archangel, pray for us.
St. John Marie Vianney, pray for us.
San Lorenzo Ruiz, pray for us.
San Pedro Calungsod, pray for us.
Blessed José María de Manila, pray for us.
Blessed Justo Takayama Ukon, pray for us.