The one who listens attentively to the Word of God and truly prays, always asks the Lord: what is your will for me?

The alliance of love between a man and a woman, an alliance for life, cannot be improvised, and is not made in a day.

Above all I ask leaders and legislators and the entire international community above all to confront the reality of those who have been displaced by force, with effective projects and new approaches in order to protect their dignity, to improve the quality of their life and to face the challenges that are emerging from modern forms of persecution, oppression and slavery.

At times we can be self-absorbed. Lord, help us to open our hearts to others and to serve those who are most vulnerable.

We must learn from Mary, and we must imitate her unconditional readiness to receive Christ in her life.

One form of prayer moves us particularly to take up the task of evangelization and to seek the good of others: it is the prayer of intercession. Let us peer for a moment into the heart of Saint Paul, to see what his prayer was like. It was full of people: "...I constantly pray with you in every one of my prayers for all of you... because I hold you in my heart" (Phil 1:4, 7). Here we see that intercessory prayer does not divert us from true contemplation, since authentic contemplation always has a place for others.

God’s love is free. He asks for nothing in return; all he wants is for his love to be accepted.