Dec 10, 2023
O bishop of Rome
who guided the bark of Peter
through difficult waters,
who kept her on the course
set for her by the Lord
even as she grew in this world
from a Church of the blood of martyrs
to one entering the light of day,
of acceptance by the city of man…
you who sought so diligently
to preserve the memory of the martyrs
lest it should pass away,
and the Cross of Christ
with it –
pray that today, too,
the Church will remember its root,
the root of Jesse and His sacrifice,
and that as she grows
our Mother on earth
will be well understood
by those called into her walls.
Pray the martyrs pray for us,
that in their blood we always find our growth.