For the Community of Chabad, Poway, CA

Dear Sisters, Associates and Staff,

Once more our hearts are torn apart by a cruel and senseless act of violence suffered by a faith community.  The JPIC Department offers this prayer for your consideration as we grieve the loss of life, the insecurity and fear of the children who witnessed the horror of violence, and the many souls whose lives have been forever changed by this act of terrorism.

My peace prevail in our countries and on Earth,
Arlene Flaherty OP, D.Min., Director
 

 

For the Community of Chabad, Poway, California

A Prayer for an end to Violence

 

Call to Prayer:  Taken from the words of Cardinal DiNardo, President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

 

“This assault, which occurred on the last day of Passover, is the second shooting in a U.S. synagogue within six months.  Our country should be better than this; our world should be beyond such acts of hatred and anti-Semitism. This attack joins an all too long list of attacks against innocent people, people of all faiths, who only want to gather and to pray. It is a contradiction, a perverting of their teachings to believe that Christianity, Judaism, or Islam would condone such violence.  Unfortunately, both in the past and today, too many preach such hatred in the name of God. This cannot be abided; it must end.

Our prayers today are for the victims of this shooting, and for the Jewish community of Poway, California, placing our trust and our hope in ‘the Lord [who] is close to the brokenhearted and saves those whose spirit is crushed’” (Ps 34:19).  Pause for Reflection.  Light a candle

Reading: 

Throughout history God has manifested love and care for those who have suffered from violence, hatred, and oppression. We commend those affected by the shooting at Chabad of Poway Synagogue to the healing mercy of a gracious God who binds up all our wounds and enfolds us in gentle care.

O Loving God, we see the images of death in Poway, Sri Lanka, Mumbai, Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, Congo, Nigeria, Sudan and South Sudan, Ukraine, Israel and Palestine, Central African Republic, El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, etc….  In light of these terrible acts of violence we say:

Response:  We, the School Sisters of Notre Dame, direct our entire lives

 toward that oneness for which Jesus Christ was sent.

Pause

Reading:  Just in the month of April 2019, we have heard the weapons and seen the blood of mass shootings and gang violence in 25 cities, towns and villages in the United States–places like Poway, Los Angeles, Jackson, Hugo, Wichita, Corpus Christi, Westmorland, Louisville, Stockton, Vallejo, Germantown, Moreno Valley, Philadelphia, Memphis, Baltimore, Kansas City, Phoenix and more.

Response:  Response:  We, the School Sisters of Notre Dame, direct our entire lives

 toward that oneness for which Jesus Christ was sent.

Pause

Reading:  The bombs are exploding again in Gaza and Israel.

Response:  Response:  We, the School Sisters of Notre Dame, direct our entire lives

 toward that oneness for which Jesus Christ was sent.

Reading:  Violence continues hidden in so many homes and families around the world – and the abuse of innocent children….

Response:  We, the School Sisters of Notre Dame, direct our entire lives

 toward that oneness for which Jesus Christ was sent.

Pause

In so many parts of the world today, the air is tense with waiting, uncertainty, insecurity. From ravaged lands, destroyed by violence, your peoples lift their hands to you. We pray for stillness, for justice, and for peace to come and to last.


Response: We, the School Sisters of Notre Dame, direct our entire lives

 toward that oneness for which Jesus Christ was sent.

 Prayers for Peace

Reader:  O God, our Creator, God of Abraham and Sarah, from which three great religions stemmed. We gather as one family in faith to pray for peace.

  • We pray for peaceful existence between Israelis and Palestinians, Sunnis and Shiites, Muslims, Jews and Christians.
  • We pray for negotiations that can reach the roots of historical conflicts.
  • We pray for a commitment to human rights by all sides and the protection of all lives.
  • We pray for effective international intervention to ensure justice for all sides.
  • We pray for humanitarian aid and rebuilding where destruction has occurred.
  • We pray for peace and for justice in our homes and on our city streets.
  • We pray for an end to violence, war and death.
  • We pray for the victims of the Chabad community
  • We pray for the shooter and for all who commit acts of violence and terrorism

Response:  We, the School Sisters of Notre Dame, direct our entire lives toward that oneness for which Jesus Christ was sent.

Grant us this, peaceful God.  Grant us a peaceful world.

All:  Amen.

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