“Look upon us with tenderness and open your arms to embrace us”

Pope Francis shared a private Moment of Prayer with the Bishops of Slovakia on Wednesday morning, 15 September, at the National Shrine of Our Lady of Seven Sorrows in Šaštín, a small town located in the Senica district in the Trnava region. The followings is the English text of the Prayer.

Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows,
we are gathered here in your presence as brothers,
grateful to the Lord for his merciful love.
And you are here with us,
as you were with the Apostles in the Upper Room.

Mother of the Church, Consoler of the Afflicted,
with confidence we turn to you,
in the joys and struggles of our ministry.
Look upon us with tenderness
and open your arms to embrace us.

Queen of the Apostles, Refuge of Sinners,
you know our human limitations,
our spiritual failings,
our sorrow in the face of loneliness and abandonment:
with your gentle touch heal our wounds.

Mother of God, our Mother,
to you we entrust our lives and our nation.
To you we entrust our episcopal communion.
Obtain for us the grace
faithfully to put into practice each day
the words your Son taught us,
the words that, in him and with him,
we now lift up to God our Father.