May our liberation come as we seek
to bring liberation to others, realizing
that our freedoms are bound together
in our common humanity.
May our pain expand our capacity
for joy, our brokenness lead to
realizations of beauty within, our
despair challenge us to cling to hope,
and our suffering invite us to love.
May we realize that God's presence
is found in the voices of the
oppressed among us.
May we learn to love ourselves as
we love the oppressed in our world,
inviting us into an experience of
liberation that is nearer to us
than ever before.
CREDIT: Nikole Lim
Lim, Nikole. 2020. Liberation is Here: Women Uncovering Hope in a Broken World. IVP.
Holy Spirit, remind me today that I am here, in a situation of unsafety, to pray. Help my body move with “a cadence of peace” that I might provide a different fulcrum between the armed and the unarmed. May I be swift in discerning dynamics, clear in taking action, courageous in preventing harm. If I should die today in the service of nonviolence, grant forgiveness to my killers, healing to the wounded, and comfort to my companions. If I should live today in my service of nonviolence, then deepen in me Your Energy for Life; and when I wake tomorrow, fit my feet once again “with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.” Amen.
Credit: Rose Marie Berger
Like pushing the Incarnate One through the walled amniotic sac, you O Maryam, continue to bring down walls. Like our foremother Hannah who called on God to intrude, intervene, and invert, you too remind us that God scatters the proud in the imagination of their hearts and pulls down the works of the mighty while lifting up the humble. We beg you for your ardent intercession, to bring down this wall, and the walls of our hearts that manifest fear and separation from our God and our neighbor. With your help, we commit ourselves to dismantling what divides us, one brick, one link, one checkpoint at a time. And out of the rubble of this wall, this dividing fence, this weaponized border, we will, with the power of Our Savior, construct a doorway of hope, a bridge of peace, a pathway to mercy. Mother Mary, bring down this wall. Amen.
Credit: Rose Marie Berger
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