VATICAN CITY, 6 SEP 2009 (VIS) - At 4.30 p.m. today the Pope visited the Marian Shrine of Our Lady of the Oak where he prayed before the Blessed Sacrament and read out a prayer to the Virgin. Among those present at the event were cloistered nuns from various convents in the Viterbo area.
Addressing the religious the Holy Father said: "To you I entrust my intentions, the intentions of the pastor of this diocese and the needs of everyone who lives in this land. In this Year for Priests I especially entrust you with clergy, seminarians and vocations. ... Offer the Lord the sacrifice of your lives for their sanctification and for the good of souls".
Benedict XVI went on to invoke "Mary's maternal protection" on "the Successor of Peter and the Church entrusted to his care. ... Queen of peace, obtain the gift of harmony and peace for peoples and for all humankind", he said.
"Keep our families united, which today suffer threats from all sides, and make them centres of serenity and harmony where patient dialogue dissipates difficulties and contrasts. Watch especially over those that are divided or in crisis".
The Pope called upon the Virgin to "make the will of those whom the Lord of the harvest calls to be workers in His vineyard firm and decided, so that, resisting all the temptations and pitfalls of the world, they may persevere generously in following the path they have taken and, with your maternal help, be witnesses of Christ, attracted by the brilliance of His Love".
"Console those who weep, who suffer for human injustice; support those who waver under the burden of fatigue and look to the future without hope; encourage those who work to build a better world in which justice many triumph and fraternity reign, in which egoism, hatred and violence may end. May every form and expression of violence be overcome by the pacifying power of Christ".
PV-ITALY/MARIAN PRAYER/VITERBO VIS 20090907 (340)
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