Friday, April 01, 2005
Hear, O Blessed Virgin,
the prayer which I address to you,
Our Lady of Rest,
as I am mindful of that maternal love
in which you receive your children.
It is by your powerful intercession, O Mary,
that the heart and mind of John Paul II found rest
during his days in the papacy.
He knew well his own weakness;
but he trusted in the everlasting promises,
and hoped for eternal happiness
as he clung to the crucified Jesus,
who has made His cross to be ours as well.
O Mary, under your patronage
may he find peace in the midst of earthly tribulation.
You are the quiet certainty of the strong soul,
ever on guard against the enemy.
You are the sanctuary of the pure
who remain unstained by earth’s corruption.
And just as, with you,
he found peace during the present life,
so may he find with you,
when the days of his pilgrimage are over,
everlasting peace in the world to come.
