Praying With the Pope: Prayer Intention for November 2017  

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The Pope;s Prayer Intention for November 2017: Christians in Asia

Pray for Christians in Asia who show they love Jesus by their words and actions. May they have good conversations with others, especially people of other religions, so all may grow in peace and understanding. 

By Grace Mazza Urbanski

St. Francis Xavier, missionary to Asia, must be excited about this month’s prayer request from the Pope! Have you ever heard of St. Francis Xavier? He was a good friend of St. Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Society of Jesus, also called the Jesuits. Ignatius and Francis Xavier were ordained as priests on the same day: June 24, 1537.

In April 1541, Francis Xavier sailed for India, a country in Asia. He spent the next 10 years traveling all over Asia, telling everyone about the love of Jesus. Traveling at that time was often difficult and dangerous, but Francis Xavier was brave and full of love. He learned new languages, baptized hundreds of people, and taught adults and children alike about Jesus. St. Francis Xavier loved serving God’s people in Asia. He enjoyed having good conversations with others, even if they did not yet believe in Jesus.

St. Francis Xavier’s example reminds us that Jesus treasures every person living in Asia. We know Jesus wants his followers there to share his love through their words and actions. Our prayers can help Christians in Asia to be brave! Through our prayers for God’s strength, Asian Christians don’t have to be shy and hide their faith in Jesus; they can find ways to speak freely about the love of God.

Let us pray:

Holy Spirit, please give Christians in Asia the strength they need. Help them share the love of Jesus in their words and deeds.

Activity

St. Francis Xavier’s feast day is December 3, and he is the co-patron of the Apostleship of Prayer. Download and print the hidden picture puzzle activity at the end of this article.

Think about it

  • Think of two Gospel stories where Jesus has good conversations with others.
  • How does Jesus show respect during those conversations?
  • What is one deed you can do today to share the love of Jesus with someone?

Grace Mazza Urbanski is the author of Pray with Me: Seven Simple Ways to Pray with Your Children. These reflections are courtesy of the Apostleship of Prayer. See ApostleshipOfPrayer.org.

To download and print the Hidden Picture puzzle listed above, click on the following link: Hidden Picture

The article was originally published in Catechist magazine, Nov/Dec 2017. To download a copy of this article, click on this link: CAT.Nov_Dec2017_PrayingwPope

Image credit:  Alessia Giuliani/ CPP / CIRIC

 

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