From Rose Mullarkey in the UK, we received a short but powerful prayer on behalf of refugees. The prayer was composed by Fr. John Feeney of Shrewsbury, UK. VinFormation prepared a meditative version on Slideshare, to enable you to pray for and with the suffering thousands affected by this crisis.

If you would like to use this with your family, or conference or religious community, here is a downloadable Powerpoint version.

For further reflection, here is Pope Francis’

Message for 101st World Day of Refugees and Migrants

“Dear migrants and refugees! You have a special place in the heart of the Church, and you help her to enlarge her heart and to manifest her motherhood towards the entire human family. Do not lose your faith and hope! Let us think of the Holy Family during the flight in Egypt: Just as the maternal heart of the Blessed Virgin and the kind heart of Saint Joseph kept alive the confidence that God would never abandon them, so in you may the same hope in the Lord never be wanting. I entrust you to their protection and I cordially impart to all of you my Apostolic Blessing.

It is necessary to respond to the globalization of migration with the globalization of charity and cooperation, in such a way as to make the conditions of migrants more humane. At the same time, greater efforts are needed to guarantee the easing of conditions, often brought about by war or famine, which compel whole peoples to leave their native countries.

Solidarity with migrants and refugees must be accompanied by the courage and creativity necessary to develop, on a world-wide level, a more just and equitable financial and economic order, as well as an increasing commitment to peace, the indispensable condition for all authentic progress.”

From the Vatican, 3 September 2014. Download here.