Home/Stay Informed/All Diocesan Articles

All Diocesan Articles

Faithful Around the World United in Prayer of Peace

Posted on March 25, 2022 in: News, ProLife

Faithful Around the World United in Prayer of Peace

The Most Reverend Michael R. Cote, D.D. joined with the Holy Father, Pope Francis, and the bishops of the world on March 25, the Feast of the Annunciation, in publicly offering a Prayer of Consecration of Russia and Ukraine to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

“As we gather today, our Holy Father is in the Mother Church of Rome to dedicate the world to Our Lady, invoking her peace,” Bishop Cote said before asking all present to kneel to begin the consecration.

The bishop then led the Prayer of Consecration while standing before the statue of Mary and the hundreds of people gathered for the consecration and Mass at a packed Cathedral of Saint Patrick in Norwich. 

The Mass was one of dozens that took place that day across the United States, as bishops answered the pope’s call to pray the consecration prayer together. From the tip of Florida to southern California, from Seattle to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, every U.S. diocese participated in one form or another.

The act of consecration took place at the end of the Vatican’s annual Lenten penance service, during which Pope Francis and other priests heard the confessions of Catholics present in St. Peter’s Basilica.

In his homily, the pope said that the consecration “is no magic formula but a spiritual act.”
“It is an act of complete trust on the part of children who, amid the tribulation of this cruel and senseless war that threatens our world, turn to their Mother, reposing all their fears and pain in her heart and abandoning themselves to her,” he said.

During the liturgy, Francis said: “In these days, news reports and scenes of death continue to enter our homes, even as bombs are destroying the homes of many of our defenseless Ukrainian brothers and sisters. The vicious war that has overtaken so many people, and caused suffering to all, has made each of us fearful and anxious. We sense our helplessness and our inadequacy. We need to be told, ‘Do not be afraid’, yet human reassurance is not enough. We need the closeness of God and the certainty of His forgiveness, which alone eliminates evil, disarms resentment, and restores peace to our hearts. Let us return to God and to His forgiveness.”

By Ryan Blessing

Material from the Catholic News Agency was used in this story. 
 

Here is the Consecration.
The written prayer and the Mass in its entirety can be found below

Link: Here's what you need to know about consecration of Russia and Ukraine by Pope Francis

Here is the full text of the prayer for the consecration of Ukraine and Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary:

O Mary, Mother of God and our Mother, in this time of trial we turn to you. As our Mother, you love us and know us: no concern of our hearts is hidden from you. Mother of mercy, how often we have experienced your watchful care and your peaceful presence! You never cease to guide us to Jesus, the Prince of Peace.

Yet we have strayed from that path of peace. We have forgotten the lesson learned from the tragedies of the last century, the sacrifice of the millions who fell in two world wars. We have disregarded the commitments we made as a community of nations. We have betrayed peoples’ dreams of peace and the hopes of the young. We grew sick with greed, we thought only of our own nations and their interests, we grew indifferent and caught up in our selfish needs and concerns. We chose to ignore God, to be satisfied with our illusions, to grow arrogant and aggressive, to suppress innocent lives and to stockpile weapons. We stopped being our neighbour’s keepers and stewards of our common home. We have ravaged the garden of the earth with war and by our sins we have broken the heart of our heavenly Father, who desires us to be brothers and sisters. We grew indifferent to everyone and everything except ourselves. Now with shame we cry out: Forgive us, Lord!

Holy Mother, amid the misery of our sinfulness, amid our struggles and weaknesses, amid the mystery of iniquity that is evil and war, you remind us that God never abandons us, but continues to look upon us with love, ever ready to forgive us and raise us up to new life. He has given you to us and made your Immaculate Heart a refuge for the Church and for all humanity. By God’s gracious will, you are ever with us; even in the most troubled moments of our history, you are there to guide us with tender love.

We now turn to you and knock at the door of your heart. We are your beloved children. In every age you make yourself known to us, calling us to conversion. At this dark hour, help us and grant us your comfort. Say to us once more: “Am I not here, I who am your Mother?” You are able to untie the knots of our hearts and of our times. In you we place our trust. We are confident that, especially in moments of trial, you will not be deaf to our supplication and will come to our aid.

That is what you did at Cana in Galilee, when you interceded with Jesus and he worked the first of his signs. To preserve the joy of the wedding feast, you said to him: “They have no wine” (Jn 2:3). Now, O Mother, repeat those words and that prayer, for in our own day we have run out of the wine of hope, joy has fled, fraternity has faded. We have forgotten our humanity and squandered the gift of peace. We opened our hearts to violence and destructiveness. How greatly we need your maternal help!

Therefore, O Mother, hear our prayer.

Star of the Sea, do not let us be shipwrecked in the tempest of war.

Ark of the New Covenant, inspire projects and paths of reconciliation.

Queen of Heaven, restore God’s peace to the world.

Eliminate hatred and the thirst for revenge, and teach us forgiveness.

Free us from war, protect our world from the menace of nuclear weapons.

Queen of the Rosary, make us realize our need to pray and to love.

Queen of the Human Family, show people the path of fraternity.

Queen of Peace, obtain peace for our world.

O Mother, may your sorrowful plea stir our hardened hearts. May the tears you shed for us make this valley parched by our hatred blossom anew. Amid the thunder of weapons, may your prayer turn our thoughts to peace. May your maternal touch soothe those who suffer and flee from the rain of bombs. May your motherly embrace comfort those forced to leave their homes and their native land. May your Sorrowful Heart move us to compassion and inspire us to open our doors and to care for our brothers and sisters who are injured and cast aside.

Holy Mother of God, as you stood beneath the cross, Jesus, seeing the disciple at your side, said: “Behold your son” (Jn 19:26.) In this way he entrusted each of us to you. To the disciple, and to each of us, he said: “Behold, your Mother” (v. 27). Mother Mary, we now desire to welcome you into our lives and our history. At this hour, a weary and distraught humanity stands with you beneath the cross, needing to entrust itself to you and, through you, to consecrate itself to Christ. The people of Ukraine and Russia, who venerate you with great love, now turn to you, even as your heart beats with compassion for them and for all those peoples decimated by war, hunger, injustice and poverty.

Therefore, Mother of God and our Mother, to your Immaculate Heart we solemnly entrust and consecrate ourselves, the Church and all humanity, especially Russia and Ukraine. Accept this act that we carry out with confidence and love. Grant that war may end and peace spread throughout the world. The “Fiat” that arose from your heart opened the doors of history to the Prince of Peace. We trust that, through your heart, peace will dawn once more. To you we consecrate the future of the whole human family, the needs and expectations of every people, the anxieties and hopes of the world.

Through your intercession, may God’s mercy be poured out on the earth and the gentle rhythm of peace return to mark our days. Our Lady of the “Fiat," on whom the Holy Spirit descended, restore among us the harmony that comes from God. May you, our “living fountain of hope,” water the dryness of our hearts. In your womb Jesus took flesh; help us to foster the growth of communion. You once trod the streets of our world; lead us now on the paths of peace.

Amen.


Most Viewed Articles of the Last 30 Days

Pope Francis Names New Bishop for the Diocese of Norwich
Pope Francis Names New Bishop for the Diocese of Norwich Reverend Monsignor Richard F. Reidy Appointed as Sixth Bishop   NORWICH, CT – The Diocese of Norwich joyfully welcomes the appointment of Bishop-elect Richard F. Reidy as its sixth bishop. Pope Francis made the official announcement today at noon in Rome (6:00 a.m. Eastern Time). Bishop-elect Reidy comes to Norwich from the Diocese of Worcester, Massachusetts, where he has served faithfully in various pastoral and administrative roles, most recently as Vicar General. His extensive experience in ...

Read More

Bishop-elect Reidy Pledges Outreach and Healing in First Public Remarks
In his first public appearance as the newly appointed Bishop-elect of the Diocese of Norwich, Monsignor Richard F. Reidy spoke candidly about his unexpected appointment, the challenges facing the diocese, and his commitment to its people. Addressing members of the media at the chancery on Wednesday morning, February 12, Bishop-elect Reidy recounted the moment he received the phone call from Cardinal Christophe Pierre, the apostolic nuncio to the United States. “He told me the Holy Father would like to appoint me to Norwich,” Bishop-elect Reidy said. “I was...

Read More

Press Release: Joint Statement Regarding Agreement Establishing Compensation Fund
DIOCESE OF NORWICH AND CLERGY SEXUAL ABUSE SURVIVORS REACH AGREEMENT ESTABLISHING COMPENSATION FUND FOR SURVIVORS AS DIOCESE SEEKS TO EXIT CHAPTER 11 Joint Statement from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Norwich, Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors, the Association of Parishes of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Norwich, and Catholic Mutual Relief Society of America Norwich, CT, February 14, 2025– The Diocese of Norwich, the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors, the Association of Parishes, and Catholic Mutual Relief Society of America are pleased to announ...

Read More

Pope Francis’ Message for Lent 2025

Posted on February 25, 2025 in: News, Lent

1316

Pope Francis’ Message for Lent 2025
In his message for Lent 2025, Pope Francis emphasized the importance of living one’s life as a constant journey of conversion, choosing to walk in peace and hope aside one’s fellow humans. “May the hope that does not disappoint, the central message of the jubilee, be the focus of our Lenten journey toward the victory of Easter,” the pope said in the message, released Tuesday.  He also quoted St. Paul’s exclamation in the first letter to the Corinthians: “Death has been swallowed up in victory. Where, O death, is your victory? W...

Read More

A New Chapter Begins: Bishop-Elect Reidy’s First Mass in the Diocese of Norwich
On February 12, 2025, following a press conference at the Chancery, Bishop-Elect Richard F. Reidy celebrated his first Mass at the Cathedral of Saint Patrick in Norwich. Concelebrating the Mass with him were Monsignor Les Janik, Monsignor Anthony Rosaforte, Father Ted Tumicki, Father Peter Langevin, and Father Brian Romanowski. In his opening remarks, Bishop-Elect Reidy expressed his gratitude for the warm welcome and his eagerness to serve the people of Norwich after three decades of priestly ministry in Worcester. During his homily, Bishop-Elect Reidy reflected on the ...

Read More

2025 CT March for Life Coming on March 19th
For those who recognize the value of all life, the early months of the year offer many opportunities to publicly declare the sanctity and dignity of every human person. On Jan. 19, Archbishop Coyne was the main celebrant for a Pro-Life Mass & Baby Shower Collection at St. Mary Church in New Haven, part of Blessed Michael McGivney Parish. Sponsored by the Knights of Columbus, the Mass provided time for prayer and the chance to donate baby items for the Connecticut Pregnancy Resource Centers. Mary, Gate of Heaven Parish hosted a Mass for Life on Jan. 20 at St. Rober...

Read More

Latest Articles
The Hidden Vocation: The Generous Single Life
Diocese to Host New England Basketball Tournament
Pope Francis’ Prayer Intention for the Month of March
Rite of Election Welcomes Catechumens on First Sunday of Lent
Share Easter Joy With the Children of St. Vincent de Paul Place
Norwich Diocesan Cemeteries Spring Cleanup Reminder
Lent and the Call to Generosity: Serving Christ in Others
24 Hours for the Lord
Recently Added Galleries
Click to view album: 40 Days for Life 2024
Click to view album: Blessing of the Fleet 2024
Click to view album: Mass of Ordination for Fr. Eric Carl Hosmer, Fr. Julian Felipe Cuervo-Lozada and Fr. Alexander James Pandolfe
Click to view album: Norwich Diocesan Council of Catholic Women (NDCCW) 46th Annual Layette
Signup for Weekly Newsletter

     

    Roman Catholic Diocese of Norwich
    201 Broadway
    Norwich, CT 06360-4328
    Phone: 860-887-9294