Prayer to Our Lady, Queen of Hope

‘O Mary, my Mother, I kneel before you with heavy heart. The burden of my sins oppresses me. The knowledge of my weakness discourages me. I am beset by fear and temptation of every sort. Yet I am so attached to the things of this world that instead of longing for Heaven I am filled with dread at the thought of death.  O Mother of Mercy, have pity on me in my distress. You are all-powerful with your Divine Son. He can refuse no request of your Immaculate Heart. Show yourself a true Mother to me by being my advocate before His throne. O Refuge of Sinners and Hope of Hopeless, to whom shall I turn if not you?  Obtain for me, then, O Mother of Hope, the grace of true sorrow for my sins, the gift of perfect resignation to God’s Holy Will, and the courage to take up my cross and follow Jesus.  But above all I pray, O dearest Mother, that through your most powerful intercession, my heart may be filled with Holy Hope, so that in life’s darkest hour I may never fail to trust in God my Saviour, but by walking in the way of His commandments I may merit to be united with Him, and with you in the eternal joys of Heaven. Amen.’

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As Pope appeals for peace, Israel warns Vatican against false ‘parallelisms’

ROME – A massive and deadly surprise offensive from Hamas in recent days has prompted Israel to declare war, drawing appeals from Pope Francis and church leaders in the Holy Land for calm, and for international intervention to prevent further bloodshed. At the same time, Israel’s embassy to the Holy See has warned the Vatican to avoid what it described as “linguistic ambiguities” and “parallelisms” that would equate the aggressors in the conflict with its victims. Speaking to faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square for his October 8 Sunday Angelus address, Pope Francis said, “I am following with apprehension and pain what is happening in Israel, where violence has exploded even more ferociously, causing hundreds of deaths and injuries”. “I express my closeness to the families of the victims. I pray for them and for all those who are experiencing hours of terror and of anguish,” he said. He begged both sides to “please stop the attacks and weapons and understand that terrorism and war do not lead to any solution, but only to the death and suffering of many innocent people”. “War is a defeat, every war is always a defeat,” he said, and asked faithful to join him in praying for peace in Israel and Palestine. On Saturday, Oct. 7 Palestinian group Hamas launched a massive surprise attack on Israel, including a barrage of rockets fired from Gaza and gunmen on foot breaching security barriers. Militants spread videos across social media platforms showing Israelis being gunned down and several being taken hostage. Read more…

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