It is Memorial Day weekend./ In the third millennium,/ how is it that human beings are still fighting wars like this - leaving young soldiers dead/ and countless innocent civilians/ many children and vulnerable adults among them./ We ask the war dead to intercede before God on our behalf,/ that we would be saved from our own worst impulses./ We pray to the Lord.
This Ukrainian mother with her little daughter are on a bus hoping to drive to safety./ Ukraine,/ yet again "the land of blood."/ Let us not forget them/ and the battlefield of diabolical madness despoiling their nation./ We cannot imagine./ We pray to the Lord.
Tuesday is the Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary,/ young Mary hurries to tell her elder relative, Elizabeth, of her pregnancy./ May we join her in celebrating the wonders God works in our lives,/ giving thanks to God for every lovely and good experience or encounter./ We pray to the Lord.
May the young children who receive their First Communion this month remain pure of heart./ May their families help them to grow in faith, hope and charity./ We pray to the Lord.
Covid cases are on the increase again in many places./ We pray for the sick and for those who generously give of themselves to care for them./ May we be wise in safeguarding ourselves and those around us/ as covid and other viruses threaten our health./ We pray to the Lord.
This Tuesday nineteen children and two adults were murdered in an elementary school in Ulvalde, Texas./ Another massacre./ The nation is covered with shame/ as this happens nowhere else in the world./ We hold this painful sadness in our hearts./ Pray for those who hold power and do nothing to help./ Could it be that there is big money to be made off of guns?/ Or could it be that they simply don't care?/ We pray to the Lord.
* "For the love of money is the root of all evil." 1 Timothy 6:6-12 It's not money that is the root of all evil, but the love of it. But then, St. Francis comes along, creating the tension in which we must live. "Better for you to go out into the street and kiss donkey dung than to touch money." Some people love Saint Francis when he stands in the birdbath. But when the saint says things like this, they get angry or nervous and cover their ears.
