At the start of April,/ we pray for those who will celebrate birthdays,/ anniversaries and other days of remembrance,/ asking for them the blessings of health,/ strength,/ peace and courage./ We pray to the Lord.
Our recent forgetting of the meaning and practice of words like humanity,/ decency and civilized/ seems to have found new depths./ May we remember,/ rediscover,/ and be forgiven./ We pray to the Lord.
Since the start of the Ukraine invasion,/ more than 7000 babies have been born to mothers who are either displaced or who have become refugees./ More than half the children of Ukraine have been displaced./ We pray for them/ and for all the families which have been torn apart by this barbarity and waste./ We pray to the Lord.
"If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts,/ the Lord says./ We pray for those whose hearts have turned to stone,/ unyielding in the promotion of dangerous lies,/ intent on the expansion of power,/ callously indifferent to human suffering and the destruction of the planet./ And for our own conversion to the things of Christ's gospel;/ may we not be distracted./ We pray to the Lord.
Soon it will be Passover and Easter./ May we not become cynical to the idea of life triumphing over death,/ light triumphing over darkness./ We pray to the Lord.
Pope Francis visits Malta this weekend,/ the island in the Mediterranean Sea which is a landing point for many migrants and refugees hoping for safety./ We pray for the pope's safety;/ may we learn from his visit./ We pray to the Lord.
