Lord, we thank and praise you for the
strong leaders the Christian church has known throughout the centuries. Knowing
full well how easy it is fall into temptation, we pray to you to help those
leaders at moments of weakness for we look up to them for strength. With the
Vatican conclave now engaged in the election process, we pray for wisdom,
guidance, and the future of the church. Jesus, would you teach the church to
truly live like you. Lord, in your mercy...
Here in Palestine and Israel, Lord, we
feel constant aggravation as we continue to bear with the frustration deep
inside our hearts. We ask you to give us even more patience to carry this
burden in a world blind to injustice. God, we ask you to be with the families
whose homes were invaded by settlers last week, be with the protestors who were
injured inside the Al-Aqsa compound in Jerusalem. We pray especially for the
family and friends of 22-year old Mohammed Asfour who died from a rubber
bullet injury sustained two weeks ago in a demonstration in Aboud. We pray to
you not to let violence escalate and that people would commit to peaceful and
nonviolent resistance that would challenge injustice without becoming unjust.
Lord, in your mercy...
Lord, we come to you with concerns for our
children especially after the UNICEF report released this week called attention
to the “widespread, systematic, and institutionalized” ill-treatment of
Palestinian children in military detention. God, please, fill the air they
breathe in solitary confinement with your warm love giving them the strength to
face another day. We ask you to spread your warmth to more than a hundred
children joining Sabeel and the Arab Catholic Scouts for a festive egg hunt
next Friday. We pray for a day to fill their hearts with joy and love as they
yearn for a loving family and a warm home. God please guard those children and
all those in need. Make their dreams come true. Lord, in your mercy...
Gracious and loving God, you know how much
the people of this land hunger and thirst for justice and peace. We pray that
the upcoming visit of the President of the United States will bear the fruits
of peace. Grant him the eyes to see and the ears to hear the cries of your
children, and the courage to do what is right and just for this troubled land.
Lord, in your mercy…
We are grateful in the meantime for all
those who work tirelessly for Sabeel in Jerusalem, Nazareth and around the
globe. We pray especially for Assis Naim as he travels to the US today. Please
keep him safe and grant him wisdom in sharing his words with the different
congregations and FOSNA groups he will meet. Lord, in your mercy...
Finally, we pray alongside the World
Council of Churches for the countries of Thailand and Myanmar. Lord, in your
mercy...
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