Opening Prayer
Honorable Mayor, and members of the new City Council of San Antonio, the Holy Father, Pope Francis, has reminded city officials of two model cities presented in the Bible, Babel and the new Jerusalem. Babel is the incomplete city, “destined to remain in the memory of humanity as a symbol of confusion and loss, presumption and division, that incapacity for understanding that makes any joint endeavor impossible.” On the contrary, “the new Jerusalem has the perfume of heaven and recounts a renewed world. Not that this is to be taken for granted: living there remains a gift; one enters there to the extent that one contributes to generating relations of fraternity and communion.”
Let us pray.
God of all truth, we give you thanks for the freedom we exercise and the many blessings we enjoy in our beloved City of San Antonio. We ask for your protection and guidance for all who devote themselves to upholding the dignity of each human life and pursuing the common good.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.
Blessing
Pope Francis told city officials that building the new Jerusalem “requires from you not a pretentious upward momentum, but humble, daily grassroots commitment. It is not about raising the tower even higher, but broadening the square, making space, giving to each person the possibility of the fulfillment of the self and the family, and of opening-up to communion with others. To embrace and serve this city, a good and great heart is needed, in which the passion for the common good is conserved. This outlook leads to the growth in the person of the dignity of being citizens…”
Let us pray.
Father of the human family, we lift up our Mayor and the members of our City Council. Heal us from any differences and unite us, O Lord, with a common purpose, dedication, and commitment to achieve justice, liberty and peace in the years ahead for all people, especially those who are most vulnerable in our midst.
May the Lord bless you and keep you.
℟. Amen.
May he let his face shine upon you and show you his mercy.
℟. Amen.
May he turn his countenance towards you and give you his peace.
℟. Amen.
And may the blessing of almighty God, the Father, +, and the Son, +, and the Holy Spirit, +, come down on you and remain with you for ever.
℟. Amen.
