Prayer
An Invitation to Prayer
In this time of prayer,
we invite people everywhere to return to God;
to maintain love and justice;
and always patiently live with hope as we wait for God. (Hosea 12: 6)
Opening Prayer
Lord, Jesus Christ
who reached across the ethnic boundaries
between Samaritan, Roman and Jew
who offered fresh sight to the blind and freedom to captives,
help us to break down the barriers in our community,
enable us to see the reality of racism and bigotry,
and free us to challenge and uproot it
from ourselves, our society and our world. Amen.
(Source: John Bucki, SJ, https://socialjusticeresourcecenter.org/prayers/racism/)
Song Senzenina (What have we done)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJP79Zon3Ek
Scripture Reading: Deuteronomy 10:17-22
17 For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who is not partial and takes no bribe, 18 who executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and who loves the strangers, providing them food and clothing. 19 You shall also love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. 20 You shall fear the Lord your God; him alone you shall worship; to him you shall hold fast, and by his name you shall swear. 21 He is your praise; he is your God, who has done for you these great and awesome things that your own eyes have seen. 22 Your ancestors went down to Egypt seventy persons; and now the Lord your God has made you as numerous as the stars in heaven.
Prayers of Intercession
God of all creation, we give you thanks for the beauty of the many tongues, cultures, and nations. We come to you with our burdens and hopes. Lord hear us:
Lord, graciously, hear us.
Deliver us from structures and mind-sets that undermine human dignity, promote new forms of enslavement and marginalization. Lord hear us:
Lord, graciously, hear us.
God of justice, we pray for those who live under the burden of injustice. Inspire us to hear them and raise their voices and reinforce their hope. Lord hear us:
Lord, graciously, hear us.
Deliver us from actions that impose poverty and discriminations on our sisters and brothers. Lord hear us:
Lord, graciously, hear us.
God of love, we pray that all humanity may see itself as one family and live together in love, which echoes the most Holy Trinity. Lord hear us:
Lord, graciously, hear us.
Deliver us from the fear and suspicion that separate us from each other and place limits on hope and healing. Lord hear us:
Lord, graciously, hear us.
May we live together as one in your love and affirm one another in charity and justice. Lord hear us:
Lord, graciously, hear us.
(Adapted from Week of prayer for Christian unity 2019)
Blessing
O God, who show a father’s care for all,
grant, in your mercy, that the members of the human race,
to whom you have given a single origin,
may form in peace a single family
and always be united by a fraternal spirit.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, forever and ever. Amen.