Prayer for the Signs of the Times: Join us the 3rd Wednesday of each month at 6:30 p.m. (CST) for a special collaborative evening prayer and reflection on the Signs of Our Times. This prayer is hosted by the CSJ Justice Commission and the CSJ Ritual Office. Three ways to participate:
O most loving God,
we raise our prayers in sorrow and pain.
We pray for families torn by the violence
in our schools, homes and communities across our nation.
As violence continues leaving in its wake
too many broken hearts and spirits by indescribable suffering.,
we ask for your love, peace and compassion to touch our hearts.
We pray for our elected officials.
We ask for your wisdom for our leaders to finding bi-partisan, comprehensive approaches to gun violence prevention that
focuses on homicide, suicides, and unintentional shootings.
We pray for ourselves.
We ask for your courage to be signs of your love in the world by speaking and acting
for peace, nonviolence and justice.
We turn to you, the God of mercy and peace,
the God who wipes away every tear,
to give us the strength to be instruments and forces of change, to be messengers of unity and reconciliation. AMEN!
Things to think about:
Pope Francis in his speech to U.S. Congress on September 24, 2015 shared, “Here we have to ask ourselves: Why are deadly weapons being sold to those who plan to inflict untold suffering on individuals and society?… In the face of this shameful and
culpable silence, it is our duty to confront the problem and to stop the arms trade.”
We continue to hold the people of Ukraine in our prayers. With the on-going war in Ukraine, see a recording of one of our CSJ communal prayers for Ukraine on our CSJ YouTube Channel.
In addition, the issue of violence and nuclear proliferation are ever on our minds. Pax Christi USA shares these wonderful pastoral letters and statements on Nuclear Arms for your prayerful reflection.
We encourage you to take time to reflect upon peace. Read and reflect upon the various messages from Pope Francis’ World Day of Peace Messages including Pope Francis’ 2022 World Day of Peace message. Watch for the new 2023 message coming out soon.