Newsletter Vol. 1 Issue 26

The Passion of Christ

Read Ahead:  John 19:17-37
 

During the Good Friday Liturgy, following the readings and the homily, the Church prays the Solemn Intercessions together. In this newsletter, we invite you to pray a Solemn Prayer for the church and our country, that we may no longer turn a blind eye to Christ’s suffering in the world, but stand with he who is crucified every day in our nation.

For the Church:
I pray for the Church, that God continues to guide us throughout the whole world and in our country, the United States of America. I pray God will watch over the works of the Church so that we may be ministers of God’s mercy, steadfast in faith, proclaiming the saving power of God. I pray that our Church – globally, nationally, and my local church community – may take in the sufferings of Christ today lived out in the many peoples of color struggling to be treated as equal in a White supremacist society. I pray that I may make my communities more antiracist in the weeks and months to come. Amen.

For the Leaders of the Church:
I pray for all leaders of the Church – for Pope Francis, for the bishops in our country and particularly the bishop(s) of my own diocese. I pray for all who work in the ministries of the Church – in parishes, schools, colleges and universities, social services like Catholic Charities, hospitals, and more – that all ministers of the Church may experience an inner conversion and see the harms people of color have experienced and do experience due to all forms of racism. I pray for the Spirit of God to activate all Church leaders to become more antiracist. Amen.

For Those New to Antiracism:
I pray for all of those journeying to become more antiracist, especially those for whom the term antiracist is unfamiliar and perhaps uncomfortable. I pray for my own journey these weeks in this Discernment Series for Racial Justice and ask the Spirit of God to continue to open my heart. Amen.

For All Christians:
I pray for all Christians – for Catholics, Orthodox, Protestant and more. I pray that we all may be unified in the fight for racial justice, for it is the fight of our Lord Jesus Christ who died on the cross this day because he proclaimed a Gospel message for and with the poor and marginalized. I pray that we might work together to break down structural and cultural racism so we can truly be the one family God intended for us to be. Amen.

For All Jews:
I pray for all Jews, especially those in our country, for whom being a Jew has come with discrimination, hatred, and even genocide. I pray that during the recent days of Passover, that the hearts and minds of all may be opened to see how, just as God intervened to take the Hebrew people out of slavery and into liberation, so too may all be co-laborers with God so that people of color oppressed today may experienced that same liberative powers that led Moses to part the Red Sea and enter into new life. Amen.

For Those of Other Faiths:
I pray for all the faithful of the world and for their traditions. I pray that the wisdom in each tradition may activate believers of each faith to see how racism is antithetical to freedom and community. I pray that we may come together in interfaith efforts to fight racism and build an
antiracist community. Amen.

For Those Who Do Not Believe in God:
I pray for the growing number of atheists, agnostics, and those for whom religion has lost any relevance. I pray that they may too be opened to the sufferings all people of color experience and use the tools provided through our national racial reckoning to become more antiracist each day. Amen.

For Those in Public Office:
I pray for all our elected officials and those appointed to government positions. I pray that, unlike Pontius Pilate, Herod, and the Chief Priests, that they may direct their minds and hearts to pass antiracist policies so that all may prosper and we may be one human community. Amen.

For All People of Color in Tribulation:
I pray for all the people of color in our country, for all those who have been deemed inferior to White people, and for those who have internalized this inferiority or experienced racist behaviors or words. I pray that God might comfort all Black, Indigenous, Asian American, Pacific Islander, Latinx peoples in our nation. Amen.

Click the video to listen.
 

How do I feel praying with the Gospel passage?

What stood out to me in Christ’s Passion? How might I connect to the suffering of particular people of color today?

How does God invite me to sit at the foot of the cross today? What is this experience like?