He has written a prayer for the Church in China in its search for union and communion,
he has written one for the Catholics of Ireland on their journey of penitence and
renewal in the wake of the sex abuse scandal. Now he has also written one for all
nascent human life read for the first time during a global vigil Saturday evening.
Below we publish a draft Vatican Radio translation from the Italian original
of Pope Benedict XVI’s Prayer for Life:
Lord Jesus, You who faithfully
visit and fulfil with your Presence the Church and the history of men; You who
in the miraculous Sacrament of your Body and Blood render us participants in divine
Life and allow us a foretaste of the joy of eternal Life; We adore and bless
you.
Prostrated before You, source and lover of Life, truly present and
alive among us, we beg you.
Reawaken in us respect for every unborn life, make
us capable of seeing in the fruit of the maternal womb the miraculous work of the
Creator, open our hearts to generously welcoming every child that comes into
life.
Bless all families, sanctify the union of spouses, render fruitful
their love.
Accompany the choices of legislative assemblies with the light
of your Spirit, so that peoples and nations may recognise and respect the sacred
nature of life, of ever human life.
Guide the work of scientists and doctors, so
that all progress contributes to the integral well-being of the person, and no-one
endures suppression or injustice.
Gift creative charity to administrators and
economists, so they may realise and promote sufficient conditions so that young
families can serenely embrace the birth of new children
Console the married
couples who suffer because they are unable to have children and in Your goodness
provide for them.
Teach us all to care for orphaned or abandoned children, so
they may experience the warmth of your Charity, the consolation of your divine
Heart.
Together with Mary, Your Mother, the great believer, in whose womb
you took on our human nature, we wait to receive from You, our Only True Good and
Saviour, the strength to love and serve life, in anticipation of living forever
in You, in communion with the Blessed Trinity