Movement of the Heart: a Novena of Prayer for Refugees & Asylum Seekers

The Catholic Justice & Peace Commission of the Archdiocese of Brisbane, Australia, has launched a new initiative on refugees, A Movement of the Heart, which begins with a Novena of Prayer held from the Feast of the Sacred Heart, 12 June, to World Refugee Day, 20 June.

The initiative seeks 'to rekindle a spirit of tender mercy and loving compassion for all those who flee persecution and violence in our world'.

You are invited to join in this Novena of Prayer using the resource prepared by the Archdiocese which contains scriptural passages, a quotation from Pope Francis and a selection of prayers, or you may wish to use your own prayer.

 Download the Novena here (4 pps; PDF)

'A merciful heart does not mean a weak heart. Anyone who wishes to be merciful must have a strong and steadfast heart, closed to the tempter but open to God...let us all ask the Lord: "Fac cor nostrum secundum cor tuum”: Make our hearts like yours (Litany of the Sacred Heart of Jesus). In this way we will receive a heart which is firm and merciful, attentive and generous, a heart which is not closed, indifferent or prey to the globalization of indifference...'

-Pope Francis, 4 October 2014