This Sunday with various names,/ we praise God for the many gifts which grace our lives,/ asking for what we need for our conversion to live well the new life the Risen Christ shares from the tomb of darkness:/ listening,/ mercy,/ justice,/ trust and attentiveness to God's spirit./ We pray to the Lord.
The Sunday is called "low" in contrast to the high joy and celebration of last Sunday./ May we not be low in our treatment of others:/ cruel,/ hurtfully moody,/ grasping,/ invasive,/ overbearing or rude./ We pray to the Lord.
Today is Easter in Ukraine and Russia./ "An Easter of War," Pope Francis has called it./ May the Risen Christ forgive and heal,/ as we pray for the dead,/ the refugees,/ the children and elderly,/ the agents of destruction,/ the families torn apart,/ the terrified people who are left behind,/ the animals,/ and people without food,/ water,/ medical treatment and hope./ We pray to the Lord.
Will Russia's church bells ring this Easter Sunday?/ How many church bells have been destroyed or silenced in Ukraine?/ A taunt-er asked the saint,/ "Can God create a stone that is so heavy even God can't move it?" /The holy man answered,/ "Yes, God created human beings."/ What a sad reality./ We pray to the Lord.
The Netherlands Nursery which makes the gift of Easter flowers to the Vatican sent this years enormous display with a message of peace and joy at this tragic time./ May the wishes of this flower gift and its generous patron be realized quickly./ We pray to the Lord.
The Easter hymn sings of Christ, risen from the dead, trampling down death by death and upon those in the tombs bestowing life./ We pray for those in Ukraine who have been executed,/ the thousands of dead who lie in mass graves,/ whose dead bodies are left in the streets like litter,/ for those who are left dead in bombed and burned out buildings./ For the hundreds of children who have been killed and for their grieving families./ We pray to the Lord.
