The following is the text of the Video Message “Pray with the Pope”, with the prayer intention for the month of September, disseminated via the Pray with the Pope initiative of the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network, on the theme For the care of water. Let us pray for a just and sustainable management of water, a vital resource, so that everyone may have equal access to it.

Video Message

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Lord of Life,

You have given us the gift of water,

source of fruitfulness, freshness, and hope.

It quenches thirst, nourishes the earth, and heals wounds.

We thank You,

because it is also a symbol of your grace and love

that renews us through Baptism.

Today we ask You to teach us to safeguard it

with gratitude, justice, and responsibility.

Forgive us for turning it into a commodity,

forgetting that it is a universal gift,

a right without borders, meant for all your children.

We see with pain so many brothers and sisters

who lack clean water,

who walk for miles to find it,

who become ill due to its scarcity.

May your Spirit make us pilgrims of the essential,

able to live with simplicity,

denouncing waste and pollution,

defending the right of every brother and sister

to drink without fear and without inequality.

May our care for water

be a sign of love for the Creator

and a commitment to the lives of the poor,

educating new generations to value

and protect the Earth’s resources.

Amen.