Prayer

Between 2013, when Pope Francis made his first pastoral visit outside Rome to the island of Lampedusa, and 2019, when he reflected on today's Gospel, more than 19,000 migrants and refugees are estimated to have died or disappeared while crossing the Central Mediterranean—the world's deadliest migration route. Pope Francis chose to visit Lampedusa because it had become both a place of refuge and profound tragedy. Six years later, reflecting on today's Gospel, he reminded the Church to see migrants and refugees not as problems to solve, but as the flesh and blood of Christ.  Drawing from Pope Francis' homily for the Mass marking the sixth anniversary of his visit to Lampedusa, let us pray that we may recognize Christ in those who suffer today and respond with the same compassion Jesus shows in today's Gospel.

God of compassion and mercy,

Today our thoughts go out to those whom Jesus calls "the least among us"—

Our sisters and brothers whose cries rise to you each day, longing to be freed from suffering.

We remember:

Those abandoned and left to die in the desert.
 Those abused, tortured and violated in detention centers.
 Those who entrust their lives to the waves of an unforgiving sea.
 Those who wait in reception centers for so long that "temporary" becomes a lifetime of uncertainty.

We remember, too, all who live on the existential peripheries of our own communities – abandoned, discarded, discriminated against, exploited, forgotten, marginalized, oppressed, and poor.

Give us the heart of your Son. A heart that does not measure a person's worth by nationality, race, religion, status, or wealth, but sees only the immeasurable dignity of one created in your image.

Form us in the spirit of the Beatitudes.

May we comfort those who mourn.
 Offer mercy to those who have been wounded, and
 Hunger and thirst for justice that restores human dignity.
 Reveal your tender, fatherly love to those who have known only rejection.
 May we encounter every woman, man, and child whom our globalized world has cast aside. Like the woman who reached out to touch the hem of Jesus’ garment, 
 May we have the courage to draw near to those whom others avoid.
 We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.