Pizzaballa, who is president of the Assembly of the Catholic Ordinaries in the Holy Land, concluded his letter by inviting Catholics in the region to take part in the annual Mass initiative, imploring “the Mercy of God and His Peace on this beloved Middle East, where the Christian faith is born and still alive, despite the sufferings.”
The text of the Act of Consecration of the East to the Holy Family is as follows:
We resort to your protection, Holy Family, Jesus, Mary and Joseph, in the midst of the political and economic crises that have accumulated around us, citizens of the Middle East.
We resort to your protection, O Holy Family, Jesus, Mary and Joseph, amid the repercussions of the Corona pandemic, which has created a state of instability, fear and anxiety.
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We resort to your protection, O Family of Nazareth, you who experienced hardship with faith, hope and love, in order to dedicate our East and our countries to you completely, and entrust our lives and our homelands, our fears and hopes, our children, our youth and our families, so that every family may become a domestic church and a school of holiness.
O Holy Family, seek from God for the Middle East the blessing of emerging from these stifling conditions and attaining the return of peace and stability, so that its citizens may live equal in rights and duties, and enjoy a free and dignified life, regardless of their religious and national affiliation.
O Holy Family, may your tender look be upon us, upon our families and upon our countries, so that we may open ourselves to the signs of God’s presence as you opened yourself with absolute fidelity, so that our hearts open to each other and to the dimensions of the entire world, thus we all become one family, living in peace, love and harmony.
With St. Ephrem, we pray to you, O Lord: Make reconciliation between peoples complete in our time, so that they may be truly one people. Gather your children in your bosom, so that they may give thanks for your goodness. If all the sons of light were united, their unified rays would remove the darkness, through the strength of their unity.
Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, we confidently place this, our prayer, and the consecration of our East in your hands. To the Most Holy Trinity be thanks and praise, now and forever, Amen.
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