January 15, 2019
O Mary,
look upon all mankind,
this modern world in which
the Divine Will calls us to live and work.
It is a world that has turned its back
on the light of Christ;
then it fears and bemoans the frightening shadows
that its actions have created on all sides.
May your most human voice,
O most beautiful of virgins,
O most worthy of mothers,
O blessed among women,
invited the world to turn its eyes
toward the life that is the light of man,
toward you who are the precursor-lamp of Christ,
Who is the sole and the highest Light of the world.
Implore for the world
to converse, by prayer, with its Maker,
whose mysterious and blesses image
it reflects within itself.
The Columbans are a society of missionaries, including priests and lay people, who minister to people of various cultures as a way of witnessing to the universal love of God.