Prayer

“Mary said: Here is the Handmaid of the Lord; be it done to me according to your word”  (Lk 1,38)

Prayer will always be the privileged place to listen to the voice of God and to give him our answer. Within our prayer we animate all those that feel the call of God so that they can respond with generosity, and also those that have left everything that the fire of his love never goes out.

Mary, Mother of the « Yes »
Mary, Mother of the “Yes,” you have listened to Jesus,
And know the tone of his voice and the beating of his heart.
Morning Star, speak to us of him,
And tell us about your way following him on the path of faith.

Mary, who lived with Jesus in Nazareth,
Etch your sentiments in our lives,
Your docility, your listening silence,
And make the Word flourish in genuinely free choices.

Mary, speak to us of Jesus, so that the freshness of our faith,
Shines in our eyes and warms the heart of those who are with us,
As you did on visiting Elizabeth,
Who in old age rejoiced with you for the gift of life.

Mary, Virgin of the “Magnificat,”
Help us to take joy to the world and, as at Cana,
Lead every youth, committed to the service of brothers,
To do only what Jesus says.

Mary, look upon the agora [gathering] of youth,
So that it will be fertile terrain of the Italian Church.
Pray that Jesus, dead and risen, is reborn in us,
And transforms us into a night full of light, full of him.

Mary, Virgin of Loreto, Gate of Heaven,
Help us to raise our eyes.
We want to see Jesus, to speak with him,
And to proclaim his love to all.

(Holy Father’s prayer to Mary for the youth at the general Audience of St Valentine’s Day, 14 Feb 2007)