World Economy. That the world economy may be managed according to the principles of justice and equality, taking into account the real needs of peoples, especially the poorest.

Speaking of last year’s global financial collapse, Pope Benedict said, “it was precisely from this root of covetousness that the crisis sprang” (General Audience, April 22, 2009). Economic and political solutions can go only so far to fix the economy. What is needed is a spiritual solution to a spiritual problem: prayer.

The Holy Father asks us to pray that the economy be managed with justice and equality, mindful of the “needs of peoples, especially the poorest.” It is the poorest who are most forgotten and denied their rights to what is necessary for life — food, shelter, and medical care.

Lent is a good time to pray and give alms. Can we sacrifice something so we can give something more to others?

Can we see all of humanity with the Heart of Jesus, recognizing our solidarity in one family? We pray for the development of a truly Christian world economy. Pope Benedict concluded his third encyclical, Charity in Truth, with these words:

“Development needs Christians with their arms raised towards God in prayer…. Development requires attention to the spiritual life, a serious consideration of the experiences of trust in God, spiritual fellowship in Christ, reliance upon God’s providence and mercy, love, and forgiveness, self-denial, acceptance of others, justice and peace. All this is essential if ‘hearts of stone’ are to be transformed into ‘hearts of flesh,’ rendering life on earth ‘divine’ and thus more worthy of humanity” (Ezekiel 36:26).

Jesus once said, “Man was not made for the Sabbath, but the Sabbath for man.” Today we might alter those words to say, “Man was not made for the economy, but the economy for man.” In other words, what is primary is the sacred human person made in God’s image and likeness.

Let us pray that the economy may serve the good of every person on the face of the earth.

Reflection

The “root of covetousness” is a spiritual problem that can be overcome only by spiritual means. How will you attack covetousness in your own life?

Scripture

Isaiah 1:10-17 — Hear the word of the Lord….Wash yourselves clean! Put away your misdeeds from before my eyes; cease doing evil; learn to do good. Make justice your aim: redress the wronged, hear the orphan’s plea, defend the widow.

Mission Intention

Churches in Africa. That the Churches throughout Africa may be signs and instruments of reconciliation and justice.

Pope Benedict recently likened Africa to an “immense spiritual lung” breathing faith and hope into a world where faith and hope are in short supply (Homily for the Opening of the Second Special Assembly for Africa, October 2009). But to be truly effective as the standard-bearer of Christ to the world, the African Church must also be an agent of reconciliation and justice on a continent beset with violence, corruption, poverty, and disease.

The countries of Africa have a long history of exploitation by outsiders who have robbed resources, subjugated peoples, and disrupted established ways of life. Much of Africa remains underdeveloped, and like the poor everywhere, African peoples have been badly hurt by the current economic crisis.

The Pope believes that the Churches in Africa can lead the way in helping to stop violence and heal divisions. He asks us to pray this month that the African Churches may be instruments of reconciliation and justice. He asks us to be near to the people of Africa with “active solidarity,” for we are one family of God.

Since all violence, corruption, poverty, and disease are the result of sin, the cure too must be spiritual. God’s grace is always necessary to help people to know and do the right thing. In his second encyclical, Spe Salvi, the Pope reminds us that “God is the author of justice.” Only by God’s  grace can Africa discern and act to bring peace, healing, nourishment, and development.

When the Christ Child’s life was threatened, the Holy Family fled to Africa and found refuge there. May the presence of the risen Christ continue to illuminate and sanctify this great continent.

Reflection

How can you join in “active solidarity” with the people of Africa? Pray that God will guide you to say and to do things that express your sense that we are one human family created in God’s image.

Scripture

Matthew 5: 13-16 — You are the salt of the earth. You are the light of the world. A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket; it is set on a lampstand, where it gives light to all in the house. Just so, your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father.

Daily Offering Prayer

God, our Father, I offer You my day. I offer You my prayers, thoughts, words, actions, joys, and sufferings in union with Your Son Jesus’ Heart, who continues to offer Himself in the Eucharist for the salvation of the world. May the Holy Spirit, who guided Jesus, be my guide and my strength today so that I may witness to Your love. With Mary, the mother of our Lord and of the Church, I pray especially for this month’s intentions as proposed by the Holy Father. Amen.

Prayer of the Month

Father, you have given all peoples one common origin, and your will is to gather them as one family in yourself. Fill the hearts of all with the fire of your love and the desire to ensure justice for all their brothers and sisters. By sharing the good things you give us may we secure justice and equality for every human being, an end to all division, and a human society built on love and peace.

– From the Votive Mass for the Progress of Peoples

Scholars. That scholars and intellectuals, by sincere search for the truth, may come to know the one true God.

Pope John Paul II wrote of faith and reason as the two wings by which the human spirit can find truth (Fides et Ratio). Himself a prominent scholar, Pope Benedict XVI laments the trend toward relativism among today’s intellectuals. He asks us to pray this month that intellectuals will seek truth sincerely and, by so doing, come to know God.

The union of Christian faith and classical reason, the Pope has said, led to the flourishing of the gospel in the first and second millennia. Faith and reason worked together as scholars and scientists expanded the world’s knowledge. They built an intellectual tradition on the idea that all truth is God’s truth. But that view of truth has weakened in our secular age (Benedict XVI, Address to Academic Community, Prague, Sep. 27, 2009).

The relativism the Holy Father deplores holds that truth is not absolute (true for everyone at all times), but is only true for some people some of the time. Under relativism, truth is no longer objective like a hard fact of physics or math, but is subjective, personal and changeable, like a feeling. (Absurdly, their assertion that truth is relative is itself a claim to absolute truth.)

Benedict says that relativistic scholars tend toward partial and temporary conclusions. Relativists tend to assign the same importance to every idea and be swayed by what is fashionable, convenient, or well-funded.

Meanwhile humans yearn for truth, “and it is to this yearning that religious faith, the various arts, philosophy, theology, and other scientific disciplines, each with its own method, should seek to respond” (Benedict XVI, Sep. 27, 2009).

We pray that scholars and teachers will again seek truth and come to know the one true God.

Reflection

How will you open yourself to ongoing learning that will help you share your faith with others?

Scripture

Romans 1: 19-23 For what can be known about God is evident to them… Ever since the creation of the world, his invisible attributes of eternal power and divinity have been able to be understood and perceived in what he has made. As a result, they have no excuse; for although they knew God they did not accord him glory as God or give him thanks. Instead, they became vain in their reasoning, and their senseless minds were darkened. While claiming to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for the likeness of an image of mortal man or of birds or of four-legged animals or of snakes.

Mission Intention

The Church’s Missionary Identity. That the Church, aware of its missionary identity, may strive to follow Christ faithfully and to proclaim his gospel to all peoples.

We begin Lent this month — a time for conversion and growth. With that in mind, Pope Benedict asks us to pray that the entire Church may become more aware of its missionary identity, striving to follow Christ faithfully in proclaiming the gospel to the whole world.

Why do we sometimes forget that evangelizing is a happy duty? Jesus has connected us to God. Our lives, even our sufferings, have meaning and purpose now. Thanks to the power of the Holy Spirit, our hearts are full of love for God and for one another. We have received the wonderful gift of eternal life. All of this is tremendously good news. Of course we want to share it with others.

On World Mission Sunday 2009, Pope Benedict wrote, “The Church’s mission is to spread hope contagiously among all peoples.” Contagiously is a word we ordinarily use to describe the spread of disease. But our Holy Father uses it to make the point that we should be spreading the gospel without even being aware of it. People will naturally be drawn to us and become “infected” by our good humor, our kindness, our cheerfulness, our faith. They will want what we have.

In that same message the Pope also asked us “to pray to the Holy Spirit for an increase in the Church’s passion for her mission to spread the Kingdom of God.”

That Kingdom of God is already among us, transforming the world from age to age. The Kingdom of God is within us too, converting and renewing our hearts.

Lent is a time of preparation for Holy Week and the solemn remembrance of Jesus’ life-giving death and resurrection. And it’s preparation for Pentecost, when we pray for a new outpouring of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. May we be open to those gifts and pray, as Pope Benedict has asked, that we may follow Christ, who was led by the Spirit, to proclaim the good news of God’s love in all that he said and did.

Reflection

How do you show others your joy and gratitude for the gifts that God has given you?

Scripture

1 Peter 3:15 Always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope.

Prayer of the Month

God of my fathers, Lord of mercy, you who have made all things by your word, with you is Wisdom. Send her forth from your holy heavens and from your glorious throne dispatch her that she may be with me and work with me, that I may know what is your pleasure. For she knows and understands all things, and will guide me discreetly in my affairs and safeguard me by her glory.

– from Solomon’s prayer, Wisdom 9: 1-11

Young People and Media. That young people may learn to use social communication media for their personal growth and in preparation to serve society.

Last May Pope Benedict said that we should not be surprised by the popularity of the new communication technologies. Our human desire to extend our friendships by any and all means reflects our participation in the “unifying love of God, who desires to make of all humanity one family” (Message for World Day of Communications, 2009).

This month the Holy Father asks us to pray especially for the young people who use the new communication media, like mobile phones and computers connected to the Internet. The Pope’s approach toward these technologies is overwhelmingly hopeful, not fearful.

What an opportunity for young people all over the world to grow in holy love for one another! What an opportunity to promote a worldwide “culture of respect, dialogue, and friendship.” What an opportunity to engage in a “genuine and mutual searching for truth … to promote understanding and tolerance.” And what an opportunity to proclaim the “Good News of a God who became man, who suffered, died, and rose again to save all people.”

For “life is not just a succession of events,” the Pope continues, “it is a search for the true, the good, and the beautiful.” Only in them do we find happiness. “We must not allow ourselves to be deceived by those who see us merely as consumers in a market of undifferentiated possibilities, where choice itself becomes the good, novelty usurps beauty, and subjective experience displaces truth.”

So, while we pray for the good the new media can do, let us also pray against evil. We ask that our young people will not use these media to lie, to abuse, or to exploit others. We ask too that they will be protected from the lies and abuse of peers and predators.

May the new media enable young people to grow in wisdom and grace as they prepare to serve society in this challenging new century.

Reflection

How do you and will you use social communication media to reflect God’s unifying love?

Scripture

1 Timothy 4: 12 — Let no one have contempt for your youth, but set an example for those who believe, in speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity.

Mission Intention

Christian Unity. That every believer in Christ may understand that unity among all Christians is necessary for effective proclamation of the gospel.

During the month of January the Pope often asks us to pray for Christian unity. When we do so, we Catholics are joining with other Christians in celebrating an annual octave from January 18 to 25 for unity among Christians. The tradition is more than 100 years old.

This year the theme is “You are Witnesses of These Things.” The phrase comes from the words Jesus spoke to his disciples just before he ascended into heaven: “Thus it is written that the Messiah would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins, would be preached in his name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things” (Luke 24: 45-48).

This month the Pope emphasizes that Christian unity is essential for the proclamation of the gospel. Disunity among Christians undermines the credibility of our witness to the world. How can we preach reconciliation through Christ if we who are baptized oppose one another? Our message of one Lord, one faith, and one baptism cannot abide the scandal of our divisions.

Our divisions generally originated in doctrinal differences, but they are often perpetuated by prejudice, ignorance, fear, and other attitudes which should have no part in a Christian’s life. These are things we can change, but we cannot abandon true doctrine.

Urging Christians to unite, Pope Benedict reminds us of St. Paul’s admonition to “hold fast to the traditions you were taught” (2 Thessalonians 3:15). We should strive to agree on “normative apostolic teaching.” All Christians should seek communion with the Church in every age. We should embrace objective truth that relies neither on subjective experience nor empirical science, but is founded on the “teaching which indeed underlies the inspired word of God and sustains the sacramental life of Christians today” (Homily at an ecumenical prayer service, New York City, April 18, 2008).

Let us join the Holy Father in praying that we will all obey the Spirit which calls us to be one in the Lord.

Reflection

How might you join with a non-Catholic Christian to witness to the truth of Jesus Christ?

Scripture

1 Corinthians 2: 12-13 — We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit that is from God, so that we may understand the things freely given us by God. And we speak about them not with words taught by human wisdom, but with words taught by the Spirit, describing spiritual realities in spiritual terms.

Prayer of the Month

Lord, pour out upon us the fullness of your mercy, and by the power of your Spirit remove divisions among Christians. Let your Church rise more clearly as a sign for all the nations that the world may be filled with the light of your Spirit and believe in Jesus Christ whom you have sent, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever.

-From the Mass for Unity of Christians

Children. That children may be respected, loved, and never exploited.

We become holy simply by becoming one with Jesus Christ. When we feel his love for others, we unite with him in the suffering that love entails, especially as we think about the millions of exploited children throughout the world. The love of Christ within us moves us to tears for these suffering children.

Pope Benedict asks us to turn our love for abused children into prayer. He asks us to offer ourselves every day this month as we join in his intention that all children may be respected and loved, never exploited.

In December we remember the birth of Jesus. God showed his love for us by becoming flesh to save us. As a little child, Jesus invites our love and so dignifies children everywhere. The International Labor Organization estimates that about 1,800,000 minors between 8 and 18 are exploited as soldiers, forced laborers, and sex slaves throughout the world.

This number does not take into account the millions who are victims of abortion. Nor does it take into account the millions who are secretly abused by those who should be protecting them.

As a man, Jesus invited children to come to him, even when his disciples tried to turn them away. Did they think that children might be a waste of the Lord’s time? Jesus said, “Let the children come to me, and do not prevent them; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” In a nearby passage he explains why. “Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven, and whoever receives one child such as this in my name receives me” (Matthew 19: 14; 18:4-5).

Do we recognize Christ in every child? Jesus defends them: “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea” (Matthew 18:6).

In praying for the exploited children of the world, we truly enter into the Heart of Christ. The will of his Heart is that not one of these little ones be lost.

Reflection

How can you protect a child from exploitation?

Scripture

Matthew 19:13-14 — Then children were brought to him that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples rebuked them. But Jesus said, “Let the children come to me, and do not prevent them; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”

Mission Intention

Christ, Light of the World. That during Christmas the peoples of the Earth may recognize the Incarnate Word as the light that illuminates every person, and that every nation may open its doors to Christ, the Savior of the World.

Scripture tells us that on a dark day during a dark era of human history the Light entered the world. The Light came “to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death” (Luke 1:79). Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was born, and the world would never be the same.

Pope Benedict asks us to pray this month that the people of the world will be open to this Light, that they will recognize in Jesus the Word made flesh.

Jesus is everything that the Father wanted to communicate to us about himself. Jesus spoke the words of his Father, and he did the will of his Father in everything. His enlightening word to a dark and doubting world was that God is Love, and there is no darkness in him.

Because Jesus was fully human as well as divine, he also showed us what it means to be human. To be human is to recognize the infinite worth of oneself and of others as children of God. We are still sinners enduring a dark and fallen season, but we know we have been saved as we await the redemption of the whole earth. We were made for eternal life with God, whose kingdom will have no end. He is coming back in glory, and we shall be like him.

In the meantime we proclaim him as the Savior of the whole world — all nations, all races, all classes, all ages. He saves us from sin and death. We proclaim him boldly to those who do not know him yet, but without arrogance, for we are sinners saved by his marvelous grace.

Jesus is the Light who shines on everyone. We pray that all people of all nations will open their hearts to the Light of God. May the Light continue to shine into the darkness and lead all God’s children home.

Reflection

Do you know the song children sing, “This little light of mine — I’m gonna let it shine”? How will you let the Light of the World shine in your life?

Scripture

Isaiah 9:1,5 — The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light; on those who dwelt in the land of gloom, a light has shone…. For a child is born to us, a son is given us; upon his shoulder dominion rests. They name him Wonder-Counselor, God-Hero, Father-Forever, Prince of Peace.

Prayer of the Month

Blessed Mary, you promised the children of Fatima that “in the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph.” May it be so! May love triumph over hatred, solidarity over division, and peace over violence. May the love you
bore your Son teach us to love God with all our hearts. May Jesus bless the children who suffer throughout the world with health and peace. Most of all, may they know that they are loved with a boundless love: the love of Christ which surpasses all understanding.

-from a prayer of Pope Benedict at Caritas Children’s Hospital in Bethlehem, 2009

Care of Creation. That all people of good will, especially those who make political and economic policies, may commit themselves to care for all creation.

This month Pope Benedict reminds us that we are obligated to care for our “common home,” this earth we share with all peoples of the world. To pollute, to exploit our natural resources, and to consume more than the earth can sustain — these are grave sins against the seventh commandment, “You shall not steal.”

The Catechism of the Catholic Church says: The seventh commandment forbids unjustly taking or keeping the goods of one’s neighbor and wronging him in any way with respect to his goods. It commands justice and charity in the care of earthly goods and the fruits of men’s labor (Paragraph 2415).

Speaking of the marvels of God’s creation as he welcomed pilgrims to World Youth Day in Sydney, Austrailia, 2008, Pope Benedict said, “Perhaps reluctantly we come to acknowledge that there are also scars which mark the surface of our earth: erosion, deforestation, the squandering of the world’s mineral and ocean resources in order to fuel an insatiable consumption. Some of you come from island nations whose very existence is threatened by rising water levels; others from nations suffering from devastating drought.”

The Pope has said that every person of good will has a duty to build a peaceful world, avoiding “confrontation between different cultures and ethnic groups” (Benedict XVI, Sorrentino, 2006). How do we avoid confrontation with others? The Pope goes on to say that we are to put the dignity of every person foremost as we develop our economic, social, and cultural communities. We must “educate in truth and foster reconciliation wherever there has been injury.” “Sincere and truthful dialogue” will lead us step by step into the peace we seek.

Pope Benedict also affirms his predecessor, Pope John Paul II, in urging prayer as a means to peace. Besides our personal, private prayers, we are to pray even with those of other religions, joining together with them in asking our universal and eternal Father for peace for the whole world.

Reflection

What new efforts will you make to communicate with someone in an effort to resolve conflict and find peace in a relationship?

Scripture

Psalm 85: 9-12 I will listen for the word of God; surely the Lord will proclaim peace to his people, to the faithful, to those who trust in him…. Love and truth will meet, justice and peace will kiss. Truth will spring from the earth; justice will look down from heaven.

Mission Intention

Peace of God. That believers of every religion may witness through their lives and through dialogue that the Name of God brings peace.

We people of the earth — of all regions, races, and religions — are every one of us the children of God, the Father, who created each person in his likeness to know and love him forever. Yet we believers in God have often hated, hurt, and killed one another in God’s own name. Pope Benedict asks us to pray this month for peace in the hearts of all who believe in God. He says that when a person’s faith “reaches maturity,” whatever faith it may be, that believer will perceive that God is the loving Father of all, leading him or her to pursue peace with all people, regardless of their beliefs or behaviors (Benedict XVI, Letter to the Bishop Domenico Sorrentino, 2006).

After all, our Savior, the Prince of Peace, commanded us to love one another, even our enemies. Sometimes we are tempted to believe the lie that because God is on our side, he opposes others. We come to mistrust one another, isolate ourselves, and, too often, fight. We do this in our personal relationships — person against person and family against family. We do this in our cultural relationships — gender against gender, region against region, race against race, and class against class. And, worst of all, we mistrust and fight against those who hold a different faith than we do.

Some unfairly accuse the Judeo-Christian tradition of contributing to the damage of our environment. They base the accusation on the Biblical account of God’s command to “fill the earth and subdue it” (Genesis 1: 28-30). Whatever our own failings, God certainly has not commanded us to do violence to his good creation. Rather God has put us on this earth to care for it with love, cultivating it to feed and sustain all peoples, including those who will come after us. Knowing that creation is God’s gift, we Christians are right to lead the way in protecting the environment.

Let us pray that all of us — especially those who have the power to make policy — will find ways to take better care of our “common home.”

Reflection

How can you help the people around you to become aware of our duty to care for the earth?

Scripture

Genesis 1: 29-31 God also said: “See, I give you every seed-bearing plant all over the earth and every tree that has seed-bearing fruit on it to be your food; and to all the animals of the land, all the birds of the air, and all the living creatures that crawl on the ground, I give all the green plants for food.” And so it happened. God looked at everything he had made, and he found it very good.

Prayer of the Month

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much
seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

— attributed to St. Francis of Assisi

General Intention

Sunday Eucharist. That Sundays may be lived as the day on which Christians gather to celebrate the Risen Lord in the table of the Eucharist.

When he speaks about the Eucharist, Pope Benedict XVI often tells the story of the Abitene martyrs. It was a Sunday in 303 AD in the Tunisian village of Abitene. Forty-nine Christians gathered at the house of Octavius Felix to celebrate the Eucharist. They had gathered despite the edict of the Emperor Diocletian, who forbade such assemblies on pain of death. The authorities caught the 49 and took them to Carthage. When asked why they had disobeyed the Emperor’s orders, a certain Emeritus replied: “Sine dominico non possumus,” that is, “Without Sunday we cannot live.” The word for Sunday, dominico, also means gift of the Lord, and Emeritus was playing on the double meaning. Sunday for them was bound up with receiving the gift of the Lord, the risen Christ, in the Eucharist. “For these Christians,” said the Holy Father, “Sunday Eucharist was not a commandment, but an inner necessity. Without him who sustains our lives, life itself is empty. To do with out … would deprive life of its dignity and beauty.”

The Abitene Christians were horribly tortured and martyred because they could not separate their faith from their Sunday practice. This was their gift, to live and gain eternal life through the Eucharist. Gathering for Sunday Eucharist is no burden, though it is a commandment. The Catechism calls it the “foremost holy day of obligation in the universal Church.” But we gather so the Lord may give us his life, nourishing our entire being, body and soul. “How will we be able to live without him?” asked St. Ignatius of Antioch, another martyr of the early Church. We pray this month that we all may rediscover how essential the Sunday Eucharist is to our lives. We pray that Christians throughout the world each week will flock to Mass with this awareness in their hearts: “Without Sunday we cannot live.”

Reflection

How can you make the Sunday Eucharist central and essential to your own life?

Scripture

“He who feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him.” (John 6:56)

Mission Intention

Spirit of Mission. That all the people of God, whom Christ has commanded to go and preach the Gospel to every creature, may diligently fulfill their missionary responsibility.

You and I may consider ourselves too young, too old, or too committed to be venturing into remote areas to preach the gospel. Surely others are better qualified for that kind of thing! Maybe so, but hear what our Holy Father asks of us. “Let it not be forgotten that the first and priority contribution that we are called to offer to the missionary action of the Church is prayer.” Where did Pope Benedict get that idea? Jesus said, “The harvest is abundant, but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest” (Luke 10:2). The Pope suggests that every time we pray the Our Father we put an emphasis on “Thy Kingdom come,” recalling that God’s Kingdom comes by the missionary activity of the Church.

In his Message for last year’s World Mission Day, which will be celebrated this year on October 17, Pope Benedict appealed to every believer to create a “spiritual network of prayer” for evangelization. Not coincidentally, the Pope spoke directly to the “sick and the suffering.” He cited the “value of their mysterious and indispensable collaboration in the work of salvation.”

The Holy Father knows there is a special power in suffering if channeled into prayer for others. How do you channel your suffering into prayer? The approach we favor is the morning offering. The Apostleship of Prayer began with the frustration of Jesuit seminarians who had to delay their dream of being missionaries. They learned to offer up their frustration, their studies, and their sacrifices-all for the missions. So, too, each of us can offer our sufferings — as well as our joys — for the growth of God’s Kingdom. Offer yourself every day for the success of the Church’s mission on earth. Offer yourself that others near and far may come to know the great mercy of God. Are you struggling, hurting, and overwhelmed in your life? Give it all to God for the good of others, and you will find peace and joy in him.

Reflection

How will you fulfill your responsibility to the missions this month?

Scripture

If I preach the gospel, this is no reason for me to boast, for an obligation has been imposed on me, and woe to me if I do not preach it! (1 Corinthians 9:16)

Daily Offering Prayer

O Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I offer You my prayers, works, joys, and sufferings of this day in union with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass throughout the world. I offer them for all the intentions of Your Sacred Heart: the salvation of souls, reparation for sin, and the reunion of all Christians. I offer them for the intentions of our bishops and of all Apostles of Prayer, and in particular for those recommended by our Holy Father this month.

Prayer of the Month

Father, you will your Church to be the sacrament of salvation for all peoples. Make us feel more urgently the call to work for the salvation of all, until you have made us all one people. Inspire the hearts of all your people to continue the saving work of Christ everywhere until the end of the world.  – From the Votive Mass for the Spread of the Gospel

Knowledge of God’s Word. That the Word of God may be better known, accepted, and lived as the source of freedom and joy.

B.I.B.L.E, says one popular song awhile back, stands for Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth. True enough. The Bible is a manual for living in peace, freedom, and joy, both here and hereafter. It’s the Word of God and contains everything essential for our good.

Pope Benedict XVI in his September prayer intention reminds us of the power of knowing, accepting, and living God’s Word. We pray that people everywhere may deepen their personal experience with the Scriptures.

Historically, the Jews are known as The People of the Book because they believe their Bible, our Old Testament, was inspired by God. To the Old Testament, Christians add the New Testament, both together comprising the inspired Word of God.

The Church gave us the Bible and teaches us from it at every Mass, yet Catholics are not known as the People of the Book. Why not? The answer is actually in the Bible. St. Paul called the Church the “pillar and foundation of truth” (I Timothy 3:15). The Church itself rests on the foundation of Jesus Christ, who promised the Holy Spirit to lead the Church into all truth. Thus inspired by the Holy Spirit, Scripture must also be interpreted by the Church which in turn is guided by the Holy Spirit.

The Church’s authority over the Scriptures does not mean that we should be afraid to read the Bible, as many Catholics are. The Bible is a living book that can speak to our hearts and help us in our daily struggles. Reading it stirs up faith, hope, and love. It gives us insights. It inspires us to pray. It helps us draw close to God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. In close friendship with God, we are able to obey his commandments and do his will. If we are reading Scripture on a regular basis, we appreciate anew how Jesus asked us to live, loving one another, and we discover new ways to do that. As we live in the Word of God, we find supernatural peace, incredible freedom from fear, and unspeakable joy in being a child of God. Let’s pray together that many will come to know, accept, and live God’s Word.

Reflection

How will you find regular opportunities to read the Word of God?

Scripture

James 1:22-25 — Be doers of the word and not hearers only, deluding yourselves.

Mission Intention

Christians in Laos, Cambodia, and Myanmar. That by trusting the Holy Spirit, Christians in Laos, Cambodia, and Myanmar may, amid great difficulties, courageously proclaim the Gospel to their brothers and sisters.

Christians make up a tiny percentage of the population of Indochina, where people are predominantly Buddhists. Laotian Christians number about 100,000 Christians out of 7,000,000; Cambodian Christians number about 20,000 out of 14,000,000; and Myanmar (formerly Burma) Christians number about 1,720,000 out of 45,000,000.

Not only are Christians in the minority, they are often persecuted in this part of the world. In some places, Catholics are allowed to worship, but Protestants are not.

European missionaries (mostly French) evangelized Vietnam in recent centuries, and Vietnamese missionaries evangelized Laos and Cambodia, where tribalism made missionary work extremely dangerous.

Another difficulty in the region is recovery from the Vietnam War and the subsequent Vietnamese occupation of Cambodia, when all religions were suppressed.

Pope Benedict met with the bishops of Laos, Cambodia, and Myanmar last year, in the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis that had destroyed so much of Myanmar. The Holy Father praised the bishops for their “solidarity with the poor and needy.”

The Pope also commended the growth of Catholicism in all three countries, evidenced in part by the rising numbers of vocations to the priesthood and consecrated life. He observed as well that the laity in Myanmar have founded “many new catechetical and spiritual initiatives, often involving great numbers of young people.”

Faced with both great difficulty and great opportunity, Southeast Asian Christians need our prayers. The Holy Father directs us to pray that Christians there may trust the Holy Spirit to help them to proclaim the Gospel to their brothers and sisters. If the Holy Spirit is with them, their work will bear fruit, whatever the difficulties.

Reflection

How would your faith be different if you found yourself among a Christian minority of less than 1 percent?

Scripture

Acts 4:31 — As they prayed, the place where they were gathered shook, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.

Prayer of the Month

Lord, inspire us to read your Scriptures and to meditate upon them day and night. We beg you to give us real understanding of what we need, that we in turn may put its precepts into practice. Yet we know that understanding and good intentions are worthless, unless rooted in your graceful love. So we ask that the words of Scriptures may also be not just signs on a page, but channels of grace into our hearts. — A Prayer from the Early Church Father Origen Adamantius (185-254)

General Intention

Refugees.  That the world may become aware of the plight of the millions of displaced persons and find solutions to their tragic conditions.

Statistics about the millions of refugees in the world might make us glaze over and give up.  Who can pray for that many people?

Perhaps we can respond to the Holy Father’s prayer request by starting with just one refugee.

You will find photographs of refugees on the website of the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS), http://www.jrsusa.org.  Look closely at them.  When you become aware that each refugee is a real person — and not a statistic at all — your heart will be moved to pray.

The JRS serves a huge camp in Kenya called Kakuma, sheltering over 50,000 refugees. One Somali refugee who is unable to walk told workers his story.  “I met a distant relative who recognized me and offered me a small space to stay with him. He found me food and kept me company. It was nice to have company. Unfortunately, he was barely surviving himself. One day, he just left me.”

At Kakuma the JRS offers counseling services to help refugees cope with emotional pain, stress-related illnesses, and trauma from sexual abuse.  JRS has turned its psychosocial program sites into oases of tranquility.  Patients find that its cooling trees and benches create a climate of peace at odds with the heat and noise of the camp.

Prayer will lead to action.  It always does.  We need awareness, prayer, and action to find solutions to the tragic plight of refugees.  The JRS website also has suggestions for action each one of us can take to help refugees.

The Letter of James says it clearly, “If a brother or sister has nothing to wear and has no food for the day, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, keep warm, and eat well,’ but you do not give them the necessities of the body, what good is it?  So also faith of itself, if it does not have works, is dead” (2:15-17).

So now we can ask, just how many refugees are there?  The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees estimates that worldwide there are 9.9 million refugees and 24.5 million people displaced internally by conflict.  Please pray.

Reflection

How will you increase awareness, prayer, and action on behalf of refugees?

Scripture

Leviticus 19:34 — “You shall treat the alien who resides with you no differently than the natives born among you; have the same love for him as for yourself.”

Mission Intention

Persecuted Christians.  That Christians who suffer persecution and discrimination may be granted human rights, equality, and freedom to live their faith.

The Pope’s mission intention this month turns our attention to persecuted Christians throughout the world.  Christians in India, Turkey, and Iraq risk martyrdom. In places like Saudi Arabia, China, and Kosovo, they cannot practice their faith openly.  Many of the world’s refugees are Christians who have had to leave their homelands because of persecution.

In many places throughout the world — even in the U.S. — Christians face discrimination in jobs, education, business, the courts, taxation, housing, travel, and marriage.

The Pope asks us to pray for human rights for Christians everywhere because we are one Body in the Lord.  We pray because our prayers have power in God to make good things happen for Christians even in a world that opposes us.

While we are aware of hostility, danger, and discrimination directed toward us, we also remind one another to love those who persecute us, as Jesus commanded.  We exhort one another to have courage and be not afraid no matter what happens because our loving Father holds us in his hand.

As we pray for human rights, equality, and freedom of religion for all Christians, we ourselves make an effort to extend those rights to non-Christians everywhere.  When we Christians are in the majority, we should exemplify the Lord’s peace, justice, and mercy toward all, particularly toward those who do not share our faith. Our love for friends and foes alike is the mark of Christians ever since the Holy Spirit descended upon the apostles and Mary as they were praying in the Upper Room.

God will reward and comfort all who suffer for the sake of Jesus Christ.  Secure in that knowledge, we ought to rejoice in our own sufferings on behalf of the Gospel.  But while we encourage each other with these thoughts, we pray that Christians everywhere may escape suffering and obtain the rights to which all people are entitled.

Reflection

You can offer all your sufferings in prayer for the good of others.  How have you suffered for your faith?

Scripture

1 Corinthians 4:12 — To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, we are poorly clad and roughly treated, we wander about homeless and we toil, working with our own hands.  When ridiculed we bless; when persecuted we endure.

Prayer of the Month

Almighty and merciful God, whose Son became a refugee and had no place to call his own, look with mercy on those who today are fleeing from danger, homeless and hungry.  Bless those who work to bring them relief.  Inspire generosity and compassion in all our hearts, and guide the nations of the world towards that day when all will rejoice in your Kingdom of justice and of peace, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

– from www.invitationtoprayer.org

General Intention

Christians in the Middle East. That Christians in the Middle East may live their faith in complete freedom and become instruments of reconciliation and peace.

Pope Benedict XVI is concerned about the exodus of Christians from the Holy Land. Now less than two percent of the population is Christian in the land where Jesus was born, preached, died, and rose from the dead. Christianity has an architectural and archeological presence in the Holy Land, but the faith is in danger of losing its ecclesial presence.

Why are Christians leaving the Holy Land?  Like many others who leave the region, Christians are emigrating in pursuit of economic opportunity, democratic freedoms, and peace.

While understanding the good reasons for leaving the region, the Pope says the Holy Land needs Christians because it is torn by conflict.  Of all the religions, Christianity is — or should be — the great reconciler.  Pope Benedict’s predecessor, Pope John Paul II, pointed out that there can be no peace in the Middle East without forgiveness.  Jesus emphasized forgiving others as the way to peace with God and with others.

On the one hand, Christianity is unaffected by conditions in the Holy Land.  Our faith doesn’t depend on land or shrines or particular places for worship, sacrifice, or burial.  Jesus Christ is “God with us,” for he ‘lives in our hearts by faith,” as St. Paul wrote.  Since the first century, Christianity has welcomed all people with no requirements except to believe, repent, and be baptized. In Christ we are all one — Jew and gentile, rich and poor, male and female.  The Spirit of God transcends all human and geographical divisions.

Yet there is something special about the Holy Land.  It is the setting for the events described in the Bible, the Word of God on which our faith rests.

We pray this month that Holy Land Christians may serve as a yeast of reconciliation, justice, and peace in that strife-torn part of the world.  We are one with the Christians in the Holy Land.  We pray that they may persevere in safety as they witness to the gospel.

Reflection

How can you show your solidarity with Christians in the Holy Land?

Scripture

Matthew 13:33 — “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed with three measures of wheat flour until the whole batch was leavened.”

Mission Intention

Humanity Reconciled. Through the witness of the faithful, may the Church be the seed and soil of a humanity reconciled to be God’s one true family on earth.

In the mission intention the Holy Father extends the theme of reconciliation he speaks of in the general intention.  He asks us to pray that all people become reconciled as God’s one true family and that the Church may be both “seed and soil” of a reconciled humanity.

To be reconciled as the Holy Father’s uses the word means to be united to God and to others.  Our reconciliation or union with God starts with the seed, the Word of God that the Church scatters upon the earth.  This is the preaching of the Gospel.

But we know from the parable that scattering the seed is not enough.  The seed on dry ground never sprouts, rocky ground can’t nourish it, and thorny ground chokes it out.  What’s needed is rich soil.  Then the seed bears much fruit.

What is the rich soil that bears fruit?  The Pope makes it clear: rich soil is the unity of believers.   At the last supper, Jesus told his disciples:  “This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35).  And he went on to pray that his followers would be one as he and the Father are one.  The purpose for their unity is missionary:  “that the world may know that you sent me, and that you loved them even as you loved me” (John 17:20-23).

If Christians are divided and in conflict, how will the world ever believe that reconciliation is possible?  Are there divisions in the Catholic Church?  Are there divisions in your diocese or in your parish?

If we cannot show the world our loving unity, we are scattering seed to little purpose.  To the extent we can unite in love will we be fruitful in our missionary efforts.

How do we accomplish the unity Jesus requires?  We begin by loving each other, washing one another’s feet, and respecting every single person as a person for whom Christ died.  We pray for the reconciliation of all people into one great family of God.

Reflection

To whom may you show love for the sake of Christian unity?

Scripture

Matthew 13:23 — “The seed sown on rich soil is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit.”

Prayer of the Month

Oh Lord Jesus Christ, strengthen the love and commitment of your people in Jerusalem and the Holy Land in this time of uncertainty and challenge. May they abide in your promise:  ”Peace I leave with you: My peace I give you.” We pray for peace with justice in the Middle East, healing for the wounded and broken hearted, and dignity for all.  Amen.

— prayer adapted from www.4hurtingchristians.com

General Intention

Foreign Debt Relief. That international efforts to help poorer nations bring prompt, concrete results to relieve the crushing burden of foreign debt.

Pope Benedict’s general prayer intention this month speaks directly to us, since we are citizens of one of the richer nations holding the debts of poorer nations.  The Pope asks us to pray that nations such as ours grant debt relief, not to be merciful, but to be just.

Pope John Paul II proclaimed the Jubilee Year of 2000 “an appropriate time…to reducing substantally, if not cancelling outright, the international debt which seriously threatens the future of many nations.”

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has stated that the debt of poor nations is a “human problem, affecting the well being of families, the survival of the poor, the bonds of community, and the security of the future.”

Many of the loans have already been repaid, in effect, as poor countries pay debt service without the ability to reduce the principle. For example, from 1970 to 2002 Africa received some $540 billion in loans and paid back $550 billion in principle and interest. Yet Africa still owes $295 billion (Jubilee USA Network).

As members of the Apostleship of Prayer, we are nourished by our devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, sign of God’s infinite love.  We strive to enter into his Heart to know and feel with Jesus.  His Heart was always moved with pity for the poor.  He told a parable denouncing a rich man who allowed Lazarus, poor and ill, to suffer at his gate (Luke 16:19-31).  Like Jesus, we ought to hold the poor of the world in our hearts.  Our own economic “hard times” pale in comparison to the perennial destitution of scores of poor nations throughout the world.

As a start, rich nations should forgive the debts of poor nations so they can devote their resources to their own economic development — creating jobs, fighting disease, and educating their children. With hearts of compassion toward the poor, we pray that our country will take the lead in developing international policies that will help poor nations rise out of poverty.

Reflection — How can you share with others, especially our political leaders, that you support debt relief for poor nations?

Scripture — 1 John 3:17-18 If someone who has worldly means sees a brother in need and refuses him compassion, how can the love of God remain in him? Children, let us love not in word or speech but in deed and truth.

Mission Intention

The Church in Areas of Violence. That local Church communities serving areas torn by violence may be supported through the love and help offered by Catholics around the world.

Recent news reports inform us that more than 150,000 Christians living in the Holy Land have left because of the violence perpetrated by various hostile factions, some directed at them.  Thousands of Christians have fled Iraq, as well, threatened and persecuted for their faith.  In some northern states of India, Christians are openly harassed, tortured, and martyred.

It’s timely, then, that this month the Pope is asking us to pray for the Church in areas of violence, especially where there is direct persecution. Their suffering is our suffering, because we are one Body.  The news reports quote some of the Christians who are remaining in areas of violence:  “Don’t forget about us,” they say, and “Please pray for us.”

Let’s pray for them with our whole hearts, offering ourselves for peace in areas of religious conflict all over the world. May Christians everywhere strive with all our might to live peacefully in obedience to the Prince of Peace. May those of other religions — Muslims, Hindus, and Buddhists — also be true to their own peaceful creeds. May extremists and fundamentalists not prevail. May all acts of violence cease. May we learn to confer upon one another the dignity due to persons of every age, gender, race, and creed. May we forget old grudges, feuds, and retributions. May we humbly seek peace through patient efforts to communicate. May we learn to forgive our enemies as Jesus did.

The Word of God reminds us over and over again that by living justly we bring peace to our lives, our communities, and the whole world. “What does God require of you but to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8).  The great universal peace of God which passes understanding, the Shalom of Jesus Christ, will not be fulfilled until Christ returns. But in the meantime, the Kingdom of Heaven is already among us.  By the power of the Spirit we pray and work for peace.

Reflection — What can you do to advance the peace of Christ at home, in the Church, and in the world?

Scripture — Isaiah 32:17-18  Justice will bring about peace; right will produce calm and security.  My people will live in peaceful country, in secure dwellings and quiet resting places.

Prayer of the Month

Lord Jesus, you foretold that we would share in the persecutions that brought you to a violent death. The Church formed at the cost of your precious blood is even now conformed to your Passion; may it be transformed, now and eternally, by the power of your resurrection.

– Psalm-Prayer from the Breviary