Nativity of the
Blessed Virgin Mary
and Prayer For all the Innocent Children in the World
H. H.
John Paul II
General Audience
September 8, 2004
1. The liturgy today
commemorates the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
This feast, very important to popular piety, leads us to
admire in Mary the Child, the purest dawn of the Redemption.
We are contemplating a little girl like every other, yet at
the same time the only one who was "blessed among women" (Lk 1:
42). Mary was the immaculate "Daughter of Zion", destined to
become the Mother of the Messiah.
2. Looking at the Child
Mary, how can we fail to remember the many defenceless
children of Beslan, in Ossezia, victims of a barbaric
kidnapping and tragic massacre? They were inside a school,
a place in which values are learned that give meaning to the
history, culture and civilization of peoples: reciprocal
respect, solidarity, justice and peace. Instead, between those
walls they experienced outrage, hatred and death, the evil
consequences of cruel fanaticism and an insane disregard for the
human person.
At this moment our gaze
broadens to take in all innocent children in every corner
of the earth who are victims of the violence of adults. Children
forced to use weapons and taught to hate and kill;
children induced to beg in the streets, exploited for
easy earnings; children ill-treated and humiliated by
arrogant, abusive grown-ups; children left to themselves,
deprived of the warmth of a family and prospects of a future;
children who die of hunger, children killed in the
many wars in various regions of the world.
3. It is a loud cry of
pain from children whose dignity is offended. It cannot, it
must not leave anyone indifferent. Dear brothers and sisters,
before the cradle of the Infant Mary, let us respond with
renewed awareness to the duty that behoves us all to protect
and defend these frail creatures and to build them a
future of peace. Let us pray together that the conditions
for a serene and safe life may be created for them.
PRAYER OF THE HOLY
FATHER
FOR ALL THE INNOCENT CHILDREN IN THE WORLD
Brothers and Sisters,
accepting the Holy Father's invitation, let us raise our prayer
to God.
Let us say together: Lord, hear us!
1. For the children of
Beslan who were torn from life with brutal violence while they
were preparing to start the new school year, and for their
parents and friends killed with them: that God in his mercy will
throw open the doors of his house to them, let us pray:
Resp.: Lord, hear us!
2. For the injured, for
the victims' families and for all the members of the Beslan
community who are mourning with broken hearts the death of their
loved ones: that, supported by the light of faith and comforted
by the solidarity of so many persons throughout the world, they
may be able to forgive those who have harmed them, let us pray:
Resp.: Lord, hear us!
3. For all the children in
so many parts of the world who are suffering and dying because
of the violence and abuse of adults: that the Lord will enable
them to feel the comfort of his love and melt the hardness of
hearts that is the cause of their suffering, let us pray:
Resp.: Lord, hear us!
4. For the many people
abducted in the tormented Land of Iraq, and in particular, for
the two young Italian volunteer workers kidnapped yesterday in
Baghdad: that they may all be treated with respect and quickly
restored unharmed to the affection of their loved ones, let us
pray:
Resp.: Lord, hear us!
5. For justice and peace
in the world, that the Lord may illumine the minds of those who
are subjected to the fatal suggestion of violence and open all
hearts to dialogue and reconciliation, so as to build a future
of hope and peace, let us pray:
Resp.: Lord, hear us!
The Holy Father:
God, our Father, you
created men and women so that they might live together in
communion. Make us understand that every child is a treasure of
humanity and that violence to others is a dead end with no
future. We ask you this through the intercession of the Virgin
Mother of Jesus Christ Our Lord, who lives and reigns for ever
and ever.
To Polish-speaking
pilgrims
Today is the Feast of the
Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. As we glorify the
Immaculate Mother of the Son of God depicted as a Child, we
cannot but recall the recent victims of terrorism at Ossezia and
all children in different corners of the world who are suffering
because of the violence of adults. Let us not cease to pray that
every child may be welcomed with respect and love. According to
this intention, let us pray for peace in the world.
To English-speaking
pilgrims
Dear brothers and sisters,
I offer a warm welcome to all the English-speaking pilgrims and
visitors present at today's Audience. I greet particularly the
groups from England, Ireland, Denmark, Japan, Canada, Singapore
and the United States of America. I wish you a pleasant stay in
Rome and I cordially invoke upon all of you joy and peace in our
Lord Jesus Christ.
To youth, the sick and
newly-weds
I greet you, dear young
people, dear sick people and dear newly-weds.
May the heavenly Mother of God whom today we commemorate as a
Child always sustain you on the path of a more perfect
attachment to Christ and his Gospel.
Return to Main Page: John Paul II on the
Blessed Mother>>>
