We pray for the people of Ukraine, who Pope Francis has called a "martyred people."/ May we not grow accustomed to this terrible,/ costly war/ as we live in our own distracted,/ fast-paced./ short-memoried culture./ We pray to the Lord.
Monday is the Feast of the Passion of Saint John the Baptist,/ who is called, the Friend of Jesus./ We pray for sufferers around the world,/ in particular praying for Christians who are arrested,/ tortured,/ exiled,/ punished,/ imprisoned/ and even murdered for being the contemporary friends of Jesus./ We pray to the Lord.
Some students have already returned to school and begun a new academic year./ We pray the blessings of safety,/ friendship and an honest pursuit of learning./ We pray for teachers,/ school administrators and staff./ We pray as well for the young people who have no school to go to, / for girls who are prevented from attending school,/ for the young people whose education is disrupted by war./ We pray to the Lord.
The plight of Catholic Christians in Nigeria and Nicaragua has intensified./ A bishop and priests have been arrested,/ religious sisters have been kidnapped./ We pray for them and Christians in many places who are living in dangerous,/ even life-threatening situations./ May we not take our religious freedoms for granted./ We pray to the Lord.
May we learn well the message of Thomas Merton who wrote:/ "We should not be too sure of having found Christ in ourselves until we have found him also in the part of humanity that is most remote from our own."/ We pray to the Lord.
Again and again we pray for those places around the world where there is drought,/ fire,/ floods and other disasters./ For those who fight fires,/ who step into danger to save or assist others,/ who have lost everything./ For the healing of bodies,/ broken hearts and memories./ We pray to the Lord.
