Dry the tears of the world

Pope Leo called for prayer and fasting on the 22 August through the intercession of Our Lady, Queen and Mother which is celebrated on the 22nd.

He said, 'I invite all the faithful to devote the 22nd August to fasting and prayer, imploring the Lord to grant us peace and justice, and to dry the tears of those who suffer as a result of the ongoing armed conflicts. Mary, Queen of Peace, intercede so that peoples may find the path to peace."

A positive aspect of social media is that this request went out far and wide instantly and ensured that millions of people around the world were holding in prayer in an intense and focussed way those places affected and wounded by the tragedy of war.

I received notification about the prayer through many sources including from the De La Salle brothers who run the University in Bethlehem which is inside the West Bank and that they embraced the call by Pope Leo with a particular devotion to Mary, Queen of Palestine. The prayer they sent is below for you to reflect on and pray with if you would like to do so.

During Covid I composed a song invoking the Holy Spirit to dry the tears of all those who had lost loved ones during the pandemic. We can call on the Holy Spirit now united with the prayers of Mary to dry the tears of all those who suffer because of war as Pope Leo has encouraged us.

The song below is track 6 on the album 'Light in the Lockdown.' Click on the highlighted title to go to the album and listen to the song.

Blessings on your week.

Veni Sancte Spiritus (Holy Spirit)

Holy Spirit

Dry the tears of the world

Turn our sorrow into joy

You are the comforter

Holy Spirit

Strengthen all weary hearts

Give us courage to endure in these days.

Veni Sancte Spiritus

Veni Sancte Spiritus

Veni Sancte Spiritus

Veni Sancte Spiritus

(Chris Skinner SM from Light in the Lockdown)