Children play in Gaza, one of the most densely populated places on Earth. An Israeli blockade has left much of the war-damage unrepaired. Credit Katie Orlinsky/Caritas
in French (Thanks Caritas Canada)
Lord God of All,
we come to you
as Caritas sisters and brothers from the four corners of the world, refugees and relatives.
We come as people who know suffering and struggle, as families and communities with hope.
We come with respect, compassion and informed solidarity with our Palestinian sisters and brothers. We ask you hear our prayer. We ask you hear their prayer for peace, justice, equal rights and human dignity.
Turn their brokenness into renewing wholeness and courage.
Turn their displacement into safe secure sheltering homes.
Turn their long hungers into nurturing fields, foods for life so families can flourish.
May stinging betrayals of unjust law and disorder finally end so healing, forgiveness and reconciliation can begin for all peoples in the Holy Land, in this ancient/modern region.
May rhetoric and history stop repeating itself as if our Palestinian friends were not real.
May all “stakeholders” see these very human beings, flesh and precious blood alive.
May their children today never relinquish their steadfast enduring belief for a better tomorrow.
Lord, God of All,
heal all who journey through desert and darkness – heal us too that we may be peacemakers.
May our simplest honest prayers unite, uplift, strengthen, respect and build up our solidarity.
May no day pass without a faithful pause which gathers us in as one human family.
One people of God from Palestine through the region and everywhere beyond every border.
Together may we be a certain path to peace that is possible, that is all we need today.
Amen.
Credit: Joseph Donnelly/Caritas
A prayer that encompasses the cries of broken human hearts, yet ever mindful of the power of God in whose love and compassion is for all. “May no day pass without a faithful pause which gathers us in as one human family.”
This heartfelt prayer should be an addition to our daily prayers until the “path to peace” becomes a realization.
I’m with you all the way!