Pope Francis shared his monthly prayer intention video for November, urging the faithful to pray for those who have lost a child.
Pope Francis’ Worldwide Prayer Network of the Apostleship of Prayer developed “The Pope Video” initiative in 2016 as a way to spread the Holy Father’s monthly prayer intentions on the challenges humanity faces in a video based format.
Read below the full transcribed and translated prayer intention of Pope Francis, and watch “The Pope Video” for November!
“What can be said to parents who have lost a child? How can one console them? There are no words.
Notice that a spouse who loses their partner is called a widower or widow. A child who loses a parent becomes an orphan. There’s a word for it. But for a parent who loses a child, there is no word.
The pain is so immense that there is no single word for it. Outliving your child isn’t natural; the pain caused by their loss is especially intense. Words of comfort, however well-intentioned, sometimes feel trivial or sentimental; they don’t help and can even deepen the wound.
To console parents who have lost a child, we must listen to them, be close to them with love, and carefully honor their grief. We should follow the example of Christ in how He comforted the afflicted. Parents sustained by faith can indeed find solace by connecting with other families who, after suffering such a tragedy, have been able to be reborn in hope.
Let us pray that all parents mourning the loss of a son or daughter find support in their community and receive from the Spirit of comfort a deep and abiding peace in their hearts.”
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