These are the words pronounced by His Holiness before the beginning of the ceremony at Wadi al Kharrar:

I want to greet all of you for having gathered for this brief prayer. In particular, I pray for His Majesty the King and I thank him again for the welcome I have received in Jordan.

PRAYER:
In the Gospel of Saint Luke we read that "the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness; and he went into all the region about the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins" (3:3). Here, at the River Jordan, where both banks are visited by hosts of pilgrims honouring the Baptism of the Lord, I too lift up my heart in prayer:

Glory to you, O Father, God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob!

You sent your servants the Prophets
to speak your word of faithful love
and call your people to repentance.
On the banks of the River Jordan,
you raised up John the Baptist,
a voice crying in the wilderness,
sent through all the region of the Jordan
to prepare the way of the Lord,
to herald the coming of Jesus.

Glory to you, O Christ, Son of God!

To the waters of the Jordan you came
to be baptized by the hand of John.
Upon you the Spirit descended as a dove.
Above you the heavens opened,
and the voice of the Father was heard:
"This is my Son, the Beloved!"
From the river blessed by your presence
you went forth to baptize not only with water
but with fire and the Holy Spirit.

Glory to you, O Holy Spirit, Lord and Giver of life!

By your power, the Church is baptized,
going down with Christ into death
and rising with him to new life.
By your power, we are set free from sin
to become the children of God,
the glorious Body of Christ.
By your power, all fear is vanquished,
and the Gospel of love is preached
in every corner of the earth,
to the glory of God,
the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit,
to whom be all praise in this Jubilee year
and in every age to come. Amen.

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Created / Updated Tuesday, March 28, 2000 at 22:33:50