from Pope Francis
Lord Jesus Christ,
you have taught us to be merciful
like the heavenly Father,
and have told us that whoever sees you sees Him.
Show us your face and we will be saved.
Your loving gaze freed Zacchaeus and Matthew
from being enslaved by money;
the adulteress and Magdalene
from seeking happiness only in created things;
made Peter weep after his betrayal,
and assured Paradise to the repentant thief.
Let us hear, as if addressed to each one of us,
the words that you spoke to the Samaritan woman:
"If you knew the gift of God!"
You are the visible face of the invisible Father,
of the God who manifests his power above all
by forgiveness and mercy:
let the Church be your visible face in the world,
its Lord risen and glorified.
You willed that your ministers would also
be clothed in weakness in order that
they may feel compassion for those in ignorance and error:
let everyone who approaches them
feel sought after, loved, and forgiven by God.
Send your Spirit and consecrate every one of us
with its anointing, so that the Jubilee of Mercy
may be a year of grace from the Lord,
and your Church, with renewed enthusiasm,
may bring good news to the poor,
procaim liberty to captives and the oppressed,
and restore sight to the blind.
We ask this through the intercession of Mary,
Mother of Mercy, you who live and reign
with the Father and the Holy Spirit
for ever and ever. Amen.
