Wipe away, Baby Jesus,
the tears of children!
Embrace the sick and the elderly!
Move men to lay down their arms
and to draw close in a universal
embrace of peace!
Invite the peoples,
O merciful Jesus,
to tear down the walls
created by poverty
and unemployment,
by ignorance
and indifference,
by discrimination
and intolerance.
It is you, O Divine Child of Bethlehem,
who save us, freeing us from sin.
It is you who are the true and only Saviour,
whom humanity often searches for
with uncertainty.
God of peace, gift of peace
for all of humanity,
come to live in the heart
of every individual
and of every family.
Be our peace and our joy.
– John Paul II
