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| Desecrated Torah Scrolls ~ Kristallnacht 1938 |
Pope Francis has led us in prayer this week:/ May we see citizens; not votes./ May we see migrants; not quotas,/ workers; not economic markers,/ the poor; not statistics,/ May we see faces; not abstractions./ We pray to the Lord.
Thursday is the Feast of the Lateran Basilica/ the Pope's church as Bishop of Rome./ We ask for the Church to be freed of so much reflecting upon its own divisions and problems/ and to be built up as an agent of dialogue in a divided world,/ solidarity,/ inclusion,/ reconciliation and human development./ We pray to the Lord.
Wednesday is the memorial of Kristallnacht/ the night which set in motion the Nazi elimination of Jews from Germany:/ murdering and injuring scores,/ destroying Jewish schools,/ synagogues,/ homes and businesses./ We pray for a world freed of Jewish hatred,/ and for the healing of memories./ We pray to the Lord.
Saturday is Veteran's Day,/ originally called Armistice Day/ marking the end of the First World War./ We pray for a peaceful world./ For veterans who are damaged physically,/ emotionally or spiritually./ We pray blessings for veterans' groups which advocate peace in our world./ We pray to the Lord.
We pray for those who were injured in Tuesday's attack in New York City,/ and blessings for the police,/ investigators and rescuers./ We ask comfort for mourners,/ and new hearts for those who do evil,/ violent things./ We pray to the Lord.
With the turning back of clocks/ we begin to experience the winter's darkness./ May we discover something of the darkness within our own souls:/ the indifference to injustice,/ our settling for ignorance,/ and acceptance of the lies we are told./ We pray to the Lord.
*Sometimes I'm asked if I really believe God answers these weekly prayers for the Church and the world? I let God be God. All I care about is that God would see my heart awake before him, and that if nothing else changes on this planet, my heart does.
