Forgive us, Lord, for the
war. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on us sinners. Lord Jesus, who
were born under the bombardment of Kyiv, have mercy on us. Lord Jesus, who died
in the arms of your mother in the shelter of Kharkov, have mercy on us. Lord
Jesus, who was sent to the front for twenty years, have mercy on us. O Lord
Jesus, for you still have iron in your hands in the midst of your cross, have
mercy on us!
Forgive us, Lord, forgive us
for not being satisfied with the nails with which your hands were pierced, but
we continue to drink the blood of the dead, torn by weapons. Forgive us that
the hands that you created to comfort one another have turned into tools of
death. Forgive us, O Lord, for killing our brother again and again; forgive us for
gathering stones on our field, like Cain, to kill Abel. Forgive us for
continuing to justify our cruelty with our hardships, for allowing our pain to
legitimize the wickedness of our crimes.
Forgive us, Lord, for the
war. Forgive us, Lord, for the war. O Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, we beseech
Thee: Put an end to the hand of Cain! Enlighten our doubts. Do not let our will
be done. Do not let us act on our own! Lord, silence us, silence us!
And when you have put away
Cain's hand, take hold of him as well. He is our brother. Lord, put an end to
violence! Put an end to our violence, Lord! Amen.
Our hearts breaking for our brothers and sisters in Ukraine, we join the Holy Father and all God's people in praying for peace.
Text of the Pope's Prayer for Ukraine
