Thursday, September 15, 2016

A Season of Prayer for Social Justice: A litany of the saints of social justice






Good Afternoon!

As promised, we are returning to our regularly scheduled prayers and vigils in this Season of Prayer for Social Justice. 

There is no time like the present to pray and give thanks for our family members who have stood firm on the side of social justice both living and departed. This litany is based on the Litany of Saints it is a work in progress.








Lord, have mercy on us.
CHRIST, have mercy on us.
LORD, have mercy on us.

CHRIST, hear us.
CHRIST, graciously hear us.
GOD, THE FATHER OF HEAVEN, have mercy on us.
GOD THE SON, REDEEMER OF THE WORLD, have mercy on us.
GOD THE HOLY GHOST, have mercy on us.
HOLY TRINITY, ONE GOD, have mercy on us.
HOLY MARY, pray for us.
HOLY MOTHER OF GOD, pray for us.
HOLY VIRGIN OF VIRGINS, pray for us.
ST. MICHAEL, pray for us.
ST. GABRIEL, pray for us.
ST. RAPHAEL, pray for us.
ALL  HOLY ANGELS AND ARCHANGELS, pray for us.
ALL  HOLY ORDERS OF BLESSED SPIRITS, pray for us.
ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST, pray for us. ST. JOSEPH, pray for us.
ALL HOLY PATRIARCHS AND PROPHETS, pray for us.
ST. PETER, pray for us.
ST. PAUL, pray for us



After the names are spoken aloud our response is this :
"IF YOU SPEAK MY NAME, I WILL LIVE FOREVER."
Festo Kivengere
 Nelson Mandela 
 Malala
 Anne Frank
 Raoul Wallenberg

 Frederick Douglas, Sojourner Truth, Harriet Tubman, William Wilberforce, John Newton, Alex Haley, ROOTS 
Archbishop Desmond Tutu
Oskar Schindler
Elie Wiesel. The Albanian Muslims who Saved the Jews in World War II
Johnathan Myrick Daniels 

James Chaney
Andrew Goodman
Michael Schwerner
Martin Luther King Jr.
Sacheen Littlefeather 
St. Theresa of Calcutta
Fr. Damian of Molokai
The Martyrs of Japan
The Martyrs of Memphis
The Martyrs of Uganda
The Martyrs of lynching in our country past and present
The Dakota 38
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Our Japanese family members who were sent to internment camps
Our family members who died in the Nazi Concentration camps
Our family members who practice civil disobedience and peaceful-non violent protest
John Lewis
Clara Barton
Florence Nightingale
Thich Nhat Hanh
All Transgender Martyrs who have been murdered for living authentically.
Black Elk
Chief Seattle
Florence Li Tim Oi
 The Dalai Lama

Leonart Pelletier
 Harvey Milk
 Mahatma Gandhi
Oscar Romero
 Anwar Sadat and Menachem Begin
 Our indigenous family members who walked Trail of Tears
 The Righteous Gentiles
 Madame C.J. Walker
Margaret Sanger

 Gabby Giffords
Francis Perkins 
All God's children who have died and survived Gun Violence
The Charleston 9 
 The Orlando 49
 The Martyrs of Stonewall
Ryan White
Matthew Shepherd 

 Malcolm X,  Mohammed Ali, Salam Al Maryati, 
 Cesar Chavez
Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Katherine Lee Bates, Marie Curie, The Philadelphia 11, Barbara Harris, Katharine Jefferts Schori 
Seneca Falls Conference.
 Christine Jorgenson, Billy Tipton, Renee Richards
 Sally Ride, Billy Jean King, Sheila Kuehl, 
 Your heroes of social justice.
Triangle Shirt Factory Fire Victims.
 Dorothy Day
 Jane Addams 

Addie Mae Collins
Cynthia Wesley
Carol Roberson
Denise McNair
Indira Gandhi
Benazir Bhutto
Those who have spoken and speak with prophetic voices.
We name before God the names of others who are on your hearts this day________________
"IF YOU SPEAK MY NAME, I WILL LIVE FOREVER."

We add these prayers this day!

As we continue to pray  let us pray the words of peace of St. Francis of Assisi


A Prayer attributed to St. Francis

Lord, make us instruments of your peace. Where there is
hatred, let us sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where
there is discord, union; where there is doubt, faith; where
there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where
there is sadness, joy. Grant that we may not so much seek to
be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive; it is
in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we
are born to eternal life. Amen.

Now let's take time to mediate on what Martin Luther King Jr. and all those who have fought for justice throughout the world.  Who are your favorite protesters?  

Let us pray in the Key of Jesus and Ring the Bells of  El Camino Real (King's Highway)for those who fought for  justice, peace, and equality. We pray this in the Key of Jesus! Ring out the Bells of Justice for all of our family members now.


Jesus we pray and give thanks for Martin Luther King Jr. and his witness to all of our family members who were longing for justice in this their distant home and land that we take for granted. We pray this in the Key of Jesus! Ring out the Bells of Justice for all of our family members now.

Jesus we pray and give thanks for Mahatma Gandhi who taught us how to protest non-violently Help us to follow Your and His Model  and use our words  to make peace and cry out for the voiceless.
We pray this in the Key of Jesus! Ring out the Bells of Justice for all of our family members now.

Jesus we pray  and give thanks for all who gave their lives in the Stonewall riots to help pave the way for LGBTQ rights and the rights of those who are afraid to live authentically. May we see God in each of us who are in the LGBTQ community, who are family, allies, and friends , be enfolded into the mainstream community with out fear and labeling. We pray this in the Key of Jesus! Ring out the
 Bells of Justice for all of our family members now.


Jesus we pray and give thanks for Elizabeth Cady Stanton and all of our sisters who fought for the rights of women so that they would no longer be property but full and perfect members of  society and examples of citizenry to their sons and daughters. We pray that all of our sisters may have full protection and rights securely given them. We pray this in the Key of Jesus! Ring out the Bells of Justice for all of our family members now.


Jesus we pray and give thanks for all of our family members who were interned in the Japanese internment camps at Manzanar and Santa Anita. We pray for their contributions to our society and ask for their forgiveness for the wrongs we may have done out of fear and mistrust. We pray this in the Key of Jesus! Ring out the Bells of Justice for all of our family members now.

Jesus we pray and give thanks for the witness of all our Native and Indigenous Martyrs who were here in their homelands of origin in this country We pray for forgiveness for the wrongs we have done to them and remember the trail of tears that took them away from places they call home and became refugees in strange and distant lands. We remember this night all of our family members who are refugees. We pray that the y may one day return home as You , Mary, and Joseph left Egypt for Nazareth. We pray this in the Key of Jesus! Ring out the Bells of Justice for all of our family members now.

Jesus we pray and give thanks for Malala and all children who speak truth to power. We pray for all our children that they may be protected from harm. May all of our youth look to Malala for hope and a role model of what one child can do. We pray this in the Key of Jesus! Ring out the Bells of Justice for all of our family members now.

Jesus we pray and give thanks for Cesar Chavez and all those who fought for the farm worker and for the rights and protection of those who put food on our tables We pray this in the Key of Jesus! Ring out the Bells of Justice for all of our family members now.

Jesus we pray and give thanks for those who have died in the struggle for justice, equality, inclusion, and universal human rights.We pray this in the Key of Jesus! Ring out the Bells of Justice for all of our family members now.

Jesus we pray and give thanks for all the many witnesses that we have not named but you know them all may we remember them now_____________________________We pray this in the Key of Jesus! Ring out the Bells of Justice for all of our family members now.

Jesus we pray and give thanks for this night especially for ________________________

We pray this in the Key of Jesus! Ring out the Bells of Justice for all of our family members now.

We pray this in the Key of Jesus! Ring out the Bells of Forgiveness,Justice, Peace, Human kindness, and most especially love,  for all of our family members now. We pray this in the name of Jesus who came to unite us in love, forgiveness, and serve to and speak  for  the least of these. Amen. 

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These are this afternoon's prayers. Stay tuned for more!

With love,

Sara



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