September 19 recalls the night when German bombs destroyed the Medieval city of Reims in 1914,/ damaging this famous, smiling Angel Gabriel of the Annunciation./ May we evolve in every truly human way,/ leaving behind the stupidity and sinful waste of war./ May we not lose our ability to smile./ We pray to the Lord.
Today is Grandparents Day./ While remembering our own,/ whether living or deceased,/ we pray for grandparents who have been abandoned or forgotten,/ who are sick,/ unwanted,/ afraid,/ or who have been left behind in disasters or wars./ We pray to the Lord.
Huge fires continue to burn across California,/ leaving unfathomable acres of forest destroyed,/ homes and property lost./ Another environmental disaster,/ we pray for those who fight fires,/ for those who suffer loss,/ for the broken-hearted./ We pray to the Lord.
We pray for Pope Francis,/ who on October 3,/ at the tomb of St. Francis in Assisi, Italy,/ will sign his next encyclical,/ Brothers and Sisters All,/ inviting the world to a restart of reconciliation,/ healing and solidarity,/ in a world exhausted with sickness and suffering of many kinds./ We pray to the Lord.
With more than 190,000 covid deaths in our own country,/ we pray to wake up to taking care of ourselves,/ our relatives,/ friends/ and all with whom we have contact./ Jesus invites us to love one another,/ may be we healed of all resistance,/ especially of the bitter kind./ We pray to the Lord.
People in leadership are often tempted to power abuse./ We pray for the conversion of heads of state who run their countries like a family business,/ who spread darkness and division,/ who lack kindness and compassion./ For our own country as Election Day approaches./ We pray to the Lord.
