The prayer for this month includes an audio slideshow highlighting refugees around the world, featuring the Prayer to the Christ of the Refugees, by Adolfo Nicolás SJ, Father General of the Society of Jesus. Click on the Play button below to view the slideshow.
For the love of Christ impels us . . . that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.
Suggestions for Prayer:
As you ponder the suggested readings from the second chapter of St. Matthew’s Gospel, prayerfully recall the words of Pope Pius XII: “The émigré Holy Family of Nazareth, fleeing into Egypt, is the archetype of every refugee family. Jesus, Mary and Joseph, living in exile in Egypt to escape the fury of an evil king, are, for all times and all places, the models and protectors of every migrant, alien and refugee of whatever kind who, whether compelled by fear of persecution or by want, is forced to leave his native land, his beloved parents and relatives, his close friends, and to seek a foreign soil.”
Although Jesus was the Son of God, he came to us in human appearance and, with his mother Mary and his guardian Joseph, shared the harsh and grief-stricken experience of refugees. As you pray for refugees with Father Adolfo Nicolás, the new Jesuit Superior General, allow the refugees of our world to invite you to reach out in prayer and action to comfort them in their trials and create a place of hope for their future.
As you pray with the photos of refugee children and their families, allow yourself to be challenged to heal the evils caused by migration and discover the plan God pursues through it even when caused by obvious injustices.
Share your Reflection
We invite you to share with other visitors to this site the fruit of your prayer on this month’s reflection. Click on the button below to submit your reflection.
Shared Reflections
My family means a lot to me and so do my friends. I think about them, worry about them if they are sick or if there's something wrong, pray for them in good times and bad. Love is a full-time occupation. I suppose that's pretty much the way it is for most people.
Looking at the people accompanying Fr Nicolas' reflection, makes me think of my own relationships and what must it be like to try to care for your own sick or hungry child in these circumstances? an elderly parent? a dear, younger sister?
Small wonder Rachel weeps through the centuries!
These people are dear to Christ and dearer to him than my closest family is to me. And if they are Christ's, they are mine; mine to cherish, mine to pray for, mine to journey with on this road to our final home. May I always remember the place they have in my life and heart.
Sr. Michaelene Devine
Beacon, NY
Jesus, my brother and friend, again I owe you my thanks for bringing your face in the faces of my brothers and sisters. Now that I am myself a "foreigner" in another land, remind me, dear Jesus, to see You in every face on the street corners, breathing fire, juggling, in the faces of the mothers with little children, with their babies, and help me not to become so jaded that I 'harden my heart.'
