# Prayer to Our Lady of Good Journeys
*2015-08-22*

> Bill Young leads a prayer to Our Lady of Good Journeys, asking for protection on Pope Francis’ upcoming travels, for the unborn, and for the nation’s moral renewal.

## Opening and Context

Good morning, I’m Bill Young. Today, August 22, is the feast day of a lady of queenship, and in her honor we are praying the Marian prayers of the month. As we begin night prayer, we turn to a special invocation to Our Lady of Good Journeys.

## Petition for Pope Francis’ Travels

In the coming months Pope Francis will travel to Cuba, Washington, D.C., New York, and Pennsylvania. I will accompany my archdiocese from Miami to the Washington, D.C. portion. We ask Our Lady to protect the Pope, to give him the right words, and to open the hearts of politicians and all who meet him.

## Prayer for the Unborn and Our Nation

We also pray for the unborn, who are vulnerable and whose lives are defended only by the Pope and our Christian brothers. May they be spared violence and exploitation. Pray, Mother, for our sorrows, for our children, and for our country, which has turned away from God’s ways.

## The Prayer of Pope Paul VI

To you, O Holy Virgin, our most sweet Mother, whom we invoke as Our Lady of Good Journeys, we commend ourselves at the moment of departure. You know the perils we face, our worries about the journey, and the comfort of returning home. May you guide and sustain us, granting that we follow your shining example so that our journey may be accomplished with sincerity, safety, and peace. Preserve us from all dangers of body and soul, and hold us by your hand as a mother holds her children.

Help those hard at work, keep them safe on the streets, and guide us even in times of rest so that we may be enriched in human virtues, comforted in spirit, encouraged, and renewed in strength. Mary, Mother of Mercy, guide our steps along the path of peace so that our life may be a pilgrimage toward heaven. Bring us one day to our final destination, united with you in the joy of God. O Mother, most sweet Lady of Good Journeys, we place ourselves in your hands and take refuge.

*May Our Lady of Good Journeys accompany us safely on every path, especially as we pray for the Pope, the unborn, and the moral renewal of our nation.*