Archbishop Vincent Nichols on preparing for Pope Benedict's visit . . .

Mac has posted an excellent video about The Papal Visit on her blog which reminded me of this video in which Archbishop Vincent Nichols looks forward to the visit of HH Pope Benedict in September.

Archbishop Nichols talks about ways in which we can prepare for the Papal Visit. He makes a very good point that it is important to prepare well.

He's right of course; just about anything we do can be much improved by good preparation whether it's cooking; painting woodwork; writing an essay or delivering a speech. The more effort we put into the preparation the better the end result -at least that's always been my experience (a lesson sometimes learnt the hard way by lack of revision leading to poor exam results!)

One of the best ways that we can all prepare for Pope Benedict's visit is by prayer. We can, and I think should, all be praying for the success of the visit not just on a personal level but that it is successful on a parish, diocesan and national level for the Catholic Church in this country.

God of truth and love,
your Son, Jesus Christ, stands as the light
to all who seek you with a sincere heart.
As we strive with your grace
to be faithful in word and deed,
may we reflect the kindly light of Christ
and offer a witness of hope and peace to all.
We pray for Pope Benedict
and look forward with joy
to his forthcoming visit to our countries.
May he be a witness to the unity and hope
which is your will for all people.
We make our prayer through Christ our Lord.
Amen.

Our Lady, Mother of the Church — pray for us.
St Andrew — pray for us.
St George — pray for us.
St David — pray for us.