Each month Pope Leo invites us to enter into prayer with him and our global Church family.
Many of the issues that the Pope invites us to pray about are things that CAFOD is working with local experts across the world to address. From access to water, that everyone has enough food to eat, and respect for human life.
Join us each month as we unite our prayers with Pope Leo’s.
Let us pray for priests going through moments of crisis in their vocation, that they may find the accompaniment they need and that communities may support them with understanding and prayer.
Reflection
We pray for priests around the world who continue to serve their communities, despite the difficulties they face. Especially those who are affected by conflict.
Fr Vitaliy is a priest in Ukraine. He has worked with local homeless people since 2007. When the full invasion of Ukraine took place in 2022, Fr Vitaliy coordinated a group of volunteers to cycle round houses, providing emergency food and other support to families in need of help.
Speaking about what brings him hope, Fr Vitaliy shares:
“Volunteers are those who bring hope... a volunteer is first of all a person who goes out of his own comfort, to make comfort for others, who goes out from his own love to bring love to others, especially in the situations which are the hardest, which are the most painful.”
Let us pray that nations move toward effective disarmament, particularly nuclear disarmament, and that world leaders choose the path of dialogue and diplomacy instead of violence.
In a world filled with violence and conflict, we pray for peace across the world.
Use our prayer resources to pray for peace across the world.
Let us pray that children suffering from incurable diseases and their families receive the necessary medical care and support, never losing strength and hope.
When Pope Francis visited the Holy Land in 2014, he used a Popemobile. Throughout the conflict he kept in close contact with his priests working in Gaza, often speaking on a daily basis to them. In the final months before his death, Pope Francis asked that the Popemobile he used on that visit be transformed into a mobile clinic for children in Gaza who are injured, malnourished or don’t have access to healthcare.
Our local partner, Caritas Jerusalem hope that the mobile clinic will be able to enter Gaza soon and be used as the late Holy Father intended.
Lizzie Funnell, CAFOD’s Country Representative in the Middle East, shares why this 'vehicle of hope' is so important:
“Caritas Jerusalem are experts at providing high quality healthcare in Gaza where the health system has been decimated by the conflict. Alongside their clinics they have mobile medical teams who go into really vulnerable communities who couldn’t afford to travel to reach other healthcare services...and we hope that the Pope mobile will be able to enter Gaza and be part of those critical healthcare services soon.”
CAFOD's partners are providing emergency supplies to people in urgent need. Read more about how you can help families survive this crisis with food, water, shelter and care.
Let us pray that praying with the Word of God be nourishment for our lives and a source of hope in our communities, helping us to build a more fraternal and missionary Church.
In Mark’s Gospel, we hear Jesus being asked which of God’s commandments is the most important. Jesus answers:
"And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these. (Mark 12:30-31)
Today I pray that the Word of God may nourish and inspire me in my daily life. May I be moved to show my love for God and my love for my neighbour more deeply through all that I do.
Ash Wednesday is on 18 February. Prepare for the season of Lent with our prayer and reflection resources for individuals, families and parishes.
We all know the importance of prayer, and how powerful praying is. We invite you to pray with us each week as we reflect on the Word of God in the Sunday gospel.
