The last of the Holy Father's scheduled meetings during his brief visit to Cameroon took place last night. The invited guests were the members of the Special Council of the Synod for Africa, who have been busy preparing the documents which will lay the groundwork for an important encounter scheduled to take place in October 2010 in Rome.
Just yesterday, the official Lineamenta (outline of the meeting) and the Instrumentum Laboris (working document) were presented publicly by the Pope himself. Tonight's meeting with the Special Council gave him the opportunity to suggest some specific reflections on the themes of reconciliation, justice and peace, thereby adding his own thoughts to the process of preparation for this significant meeting.
The Instrumentum Laboris concludes with a special prayer which the Holy Father invited the gathered members to recite on a regular basis in the coming months, along with the faithful as a vocal commitment to prayer for the success of the Synod.
Holy Mary, Mother of God, Protectress of Africa, you have given the
world its true light, Jesus Christ. By your obedience to the Father and by the
grace of the Holy Spirit, you have given us the source of our reconciliation and
our joy.
Mother of tenderness and wisdom, show us Jesus, your Son and the Son of
God, sustain our journey of conversion, so that Jesus may enlighten us with his
Glory in all the settings of our personal, family and social life.
Mother full of Mercy and Justice, by your docility to the Spirit, the
Comforter, obtain for us the grace to be witnesses of the Risen Lord, so that we
may become ever more fully the salt of the earth and the light of the
world.
Mother of Perpetual Succour, to your maternal intercession we entrust
the preparation and the fruits of the Second Synod for Africa. Queen of Peace,
pray for us! Our Lady of Africa, pray for us!
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