Jubilant June
Wednesday is the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul./ The word apostle means one who is sent out./ And ours is an apostolic faith./ May we break any bad habit of keeping Christ to ourselves as some kind of personal treasure,/ becoming instead the people whose lives deliver God's good news of welcoming love,/ justice and peace./We pray to the Lord.
May God keep us from a spirit of monotony/ as we return to the long summer weeks of liturgical green,/ seeing rather an invitation to our own green-ing and growing in the close-at-hand mystery of Christ's bright rising/ which encourages new beginnings born of love./ We pray to the Lord.
We pray for the places which are afflicted by dangerous summer heat and drought./ For the safety of travelers and vacationers./ For those who get no rest away from work./ May the summer months bring with them a personal renewal./ We pray to the Lord.
As people once would have listened to the priests and prophets of old,/ today many Christians listen and heed the rude-growing media-voices which foment discontent,/ conspiracy and fear,/ those who peddle lies/ and subtle justifications for violence and menace./ May we come to know once again the clear and clean voice of Christ./ We pray to the Lord.
We pray for those who are broken-hearted,/ who suffer the death of dear ones to violence or accident,/ who can't break out of poverty,/ who are overwhelmed by failure,/ sadness,/ prolonged sickness,/ who never have a good day./ We pray to the Lord.
The assault upon poor Ukraine spares nothing,/ even the children,/ the churches,/ the elderly grandparents,/ the forests and the animals./ We pray for those who survive the relentless awfulness unleashed upon them,/ who live in tears,/ hunger,/ wound and disease,/ flame,/ smoke and decay./ Rise up,/ O Christ,/ in a display of your Easter Rising of life over death./ We pray to the Lord.
A deep darkness is spreading over our nation./ Gun death occurs every day now,/ in schools,/ parks,/ churches,/ synagogues,/ supermarkets,/ malls,/ theatres,/ wherever people gather./ How terrible the thought,/ but could it be that we are more intent on protecting deadly weapons over the lives of even young children?/ Dare we ask for the mind of Christ?/ We pray to the Lord.
