Vatican City, 9 December 2014 (VIS) –
Yesterday, the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, the Holy
Father went to the Basilica of St. Mary Major to pray before the
image of Mary, Salus Populi Romani, and then to Piazza di Spagna
where he carried out the traditional act of veneration of Mary
Immaculate. For the occasion, Francis composed and recited a prayer,
the full text of which is published below:
“Mary our Mother, today the People of
God celebrate you and venerate you as Immaculate, preserved forever
from the stain of sin.
Accept the homage I offer you in the
name of the Church in Rome and throughout the world.
Knowing that you, who are our Mother,
are totally free from sin, is of great comfort to us.
Knowing that evil has no power over
you, fills us with hope and strength in the daily struggle we have to
face against the threats of the evil one.
But we are not alone in this struggle,
we are not orphans because Jesus, before dying on the Cross, gave you
to us as our Mother.
Even though we are sinners, we are
still your children, children of the Immaculate, called to that
holiness that shines in you by the grace of God since the beginning.
Inspired by this hope, today we invoke
your maternal protection for us, our families, this city and the
whole world.
Through your intercession, may the
power of God’s love that preserved you from original sin, free
humanity from every form of spiritual and material slavery and make
God’s plan of salvation be victorious in both hearts and in
history.
May grace prevail over pride in us too,
your children.
May we become merciful as our heavenly
Father is merciful.
During this time leading to the
celebration of Jesus’ birth, teach us to go against the flow: to
strip ourselves, to be humble and giving, to listen and be silent, to
go out of ourselves, giving space to the beauty of God, source of
true joy.
Pray for us, our Immaculate Mother!”.
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