Each month, Pope Francis puts forward a prayer intention and asks Catholics around the world to join him in prayer. These monthly prayer intentions reflect the concerns of the Holy Father for the humanity and the sacred mission of the Catholic Church.
For the month of March, we are joined by Martin, in a prayer for the martyrs of our day, who risk their lives for the Gospel and inspire the Church with their courage and missionary enthusiasm.
Pope Francis’ Monthly Prayer Intention – March 2024 – Transcript
Hello, I’m Martin Lewis the Diocesan Director for Catholic Mission for Brisbane and Toowoomba. The Pope’s monthly prayer intention for March is for the martyrs of our day. In 2024 Australia we may seem so far from the martyrs of the early church that we may have learned about at school. Saint Stephen, Jesus’ Apostles, and the persecuted first Christians. The heartbreaking truth is that Christians are being imprisoned, beaten, and martyred in the world today.
The 2023 World Watch List estimated that 360 million people were persecuted over the 12 month period. 5621 Christians were killed for their faith last year. That’s 15 per week. Particularly during this time of Lent we can ask the question, what did all of these people have in common? Well, Jesus Christ was at the centre of their actions. We should aspire to have Jesus as our central point not only in the forty days leading to Easter, but through the year.
This month we pray for our fellow believers who are being persecuted for their faith by their own countryfolk or their government. We also give thanks to our gracious God for living in a country and society where religious beliefs can be expressed and shared with others as we spread the Good News of Jesus.
As I conclude, I leave you with Jesus’ words from Matthew’s Gospel. ‘Blessed are those who are persecuted, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven’. Thank you and God bless.