Pope Francis asks for our prayers

Give praise, O ye heavens, and rejoice, O earth, ye mountains, give praise with jubilation: because the Lord hath comforted his people, and will have mercy on his poor ones.

And Sion said: The Lord hath forsaken me, and the Lord hath forgotten me.

Can a woman forget her infant, so as not to have pity on the son of her womb? and if she should forget, yet will not I forget thee.

 -- Isaiah 49:13-15

In his first words, Pope Francis asked for our prayers...

And now I would like to give you my blessing. But before I do, I would like to ask you a favor: before the bishop blesses the people, I ask you to pray to the Lord that He bless me…. the prayer of the people for a blessing upon their bishop. Let us take a moment of silence for you to offer your prayer for me.”

In the readings for today's Mass we have a reminder from the book of Isaiah that "the Lord hath comforted his people". And we also have a reminder of the primary importance of the family and the child in the womb, "Can a woman forget her infant, so as not to have pity on the son of her womb?"

May this be a sign from Heaven that the Holy Father will place the protection of life and the family foremost in his papacy. This is where the battle between Heaven and Hell is raging in today's world. This is a battle that must be won by the His Holy Church at all cost.

All the angels and saints, pray for us!