Holy Trinity Church ~ Antarctica
We ask for the strengthening of our families, / our parishes and communities,/ as we celebrate the inner relational life of God./ We pray for the people of Ukraine where life is fragmented,/ threatened and stressed./ For the children,/ the elderly,/ the wounded and those who are mourning the war dead./ May peace be restored./ We pray to the Lord.
On Pentecost Sunday,/ fifty people, including children/ were killed by terrorists during Mass at St. Francis Xavier Church in Nigeria./ Within the past weeks,/ important churches have been targeted and burned in Ukraine,/ monks have died in the shelling of monasteries./ The devil is a spoiler./ May God intervene./ We pray to the Lord.
Erasmus,/ the 16th century Dutch philosopher and Catholic theologian,/ wrote,/ "No man is wise at all times, or is without his blind side."/ May we know ourselves well./ Not only our sins,/ but our ignorance,/ mistakenness/ and vulnerability before media voices which sow confusion,/ fear,/ anger,/ suspicion./ We pray to the Lord.
Ours is a planet of delight, but also of suffering./ We pray for those who live with lift-threatening sickness,/ those who struggle with chronic pain,/ who are being treated for cancer and other persistent diseases,/ those undergoing surgery this week,/ those with no access to medical treatment./ We pray to the Lord.
Love is the bond of unity within the Holy Trinity./ By Baptism,/ and living within the Trinity,/ we pray to love anyone who has wronged us/ or who we have wronged./ For anyone who actively dislikes us/ or who we dislike./ May we be freed of consuming negativity,/ complaint and enervating judgments of others./ We pray to the Lord.
In the month of June,/ may we take pleasure in God's creation which pulses with life,/ taking care as we are able/ to protect the planet entrusted to us,/ a planet which is at once resilient and yet delicate and fragile./ We pray to the Lord.
