Prayers for Mercy

Prayer of Pope Francis for Mercy

Lord Jesus Christ,
you have taught us to be merciful like the heavenly Father,
and have told us that whoever sees you sees Him.
Show us your face and we will be saved.
Your loving gaze freed Zacchaeus and Matthew from being enslaved by money;the adulteress and Magdalene from seeking happiness only in created things;
made Peter weep after his betrayal,
and assured Paradise to the repentant thief.
Let us hear, as if addressed to each one of us, the words that you spoke to the Samaritan woman:“If you knew the gift of God!”

You are the visible face of the invisible Father,
of the God who manifests his power above all by forgiveness and mercy:
let the Church be your visible face in the world, its Lord risen and glorified.
You willed that your ministers would also be clothed in weakness
in order that they may feel compassion for those in ignorance and error:
let everyone who approaches them feel sought after, loved, and forgiven by God.

Send your Spirit and consecrate every one of us with its anointing,
so that the Jubilee of Mercy may be a year of grace from the Lord,
and your Church, with renewed enthusiasm, may bring good news to the poor,
proclaim liberty to captives and the oppressed,
and restore sight to the blind.

We ask this of you, Lord Jesus, through the intercession of Mary, Mother of
Mercy; you who live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit for ever and
ever.

Amen.

Vessels of Mercy, A prayer for the Year of Mercy

God of Mercy,

As you have forgiven us
So you send us forth
To bear your message of mercy to all.

Give us willing feet and gentle hands.
Bless us with listening ears and searching eyes. Endow us with understanding minds.
Ordain us with compassionate hearts.

In our acts and in our words
Make us vessels of your mercy
To reach out to the broken
On behalf of the father who wipes away our debts As lovingly as he wipes away our tears

And calls his children home.

Help us lift your people in body and spirit. And so make every year a year of mercy.

Amen

(from Catholic Relief Services, www.crs.org)