God walks with His people

Reinforcing the lived reality of these challenging days, Pope Francis,  in his Message for the upcoming World Day of Migrants and Refugees (#WDMR) on Sunday 29^th September, he reminds us “all of us, God’s people, are migrants on this earth”  on our way to the ‘true homeland’, the Kingdom of Heaven. Yes, God walks with His people.

He speaks about Migrants as a contemporary icon of this people on a journey, of the Church on a journey, and at the same time it is in them and in all our vulnerable brothers and sisters that we can encounter the Lord who walks with us.

For this reason, the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development (DPIHD) is promoting a communication campaign in preparation for the WDMR2024 in which it invites all people of goodwill to organise initiatives with migrants, refugees, vulnerable people… In the new video of the campaign, Pope Francis asks all of us to walk TOGETHER, with the most vulnerable, with Jesus.

The idea is to walk a piece of the road together, with our community, parish, and diocese, also involving all the inhabitants of the “existential peripheries” that Pope Francis encourages us to welcome. To this end, the DPIHD is preparing support material for these initiatives that can take the form of meditative walks, moments of reflection in stages, prayer vigils… the important thing is not to leave anyone behind.

You can use the following resource materials for any initiative you undertake to “create spaces of encounter” as well as for prayer and pilgrimage together on this #WDMR which isn’t just one single day, but one which starts or reinforces a Journey for Life and a Journey that gives Life.

Full text of MESSAGE WDMR2024  by Pope Francis for WDMR2024

WDMR2024 Subsidy – easy print 

WDMR2024 Subsidy

VIDEOS – God walks with His people

YouTube Video Link

See https://youtu.be/FlVFBfgesFw

Prayer from Pope Francis’ Message for
World Day of Migrants and
Refugees 2024

God, Almighty Father,
we are your pilgrim Church
journeying towards the Kingdom of heaven.
We live in our homeland,
but as if we were foreigners.
Every foreign place is our home,
yet every native land is foreign to us.
Though we live on earth,
our true citizenship is in heaven.
Do not let us become possessive
of the portion of the world
you have given us as a temporary home.
Help us to keep walking,
together with our migrant brothers and sisters,
toward the eternal dwelling you have prepared for us.
Open our eyes and our hearts
so that every encounter with those in need
becomes an encounter with Jesus, your Son and our Lord.

Amen