For the last year, we have been praying every week naming many of the harms unfolding and acknowledging what is being erased, lost, and threatened. Together, we’ve lamented violence, conflict, and war. We grieved displacement and migration hardship, poverty, and economic insecurity. We’ve expressed our helplessness in the face of environmental degradation, political breakdown, and governance failures, discrimination and social exclusion, and the suffering of the vulnerable in a climate of fear, division, and loss of truth. We’ve prayed for peace and reconciliation, justice, and the upholding of human dignity, wisdom, and integrity of leaders, and courage for faithful action. We’ve renewed our commitment to compassion and solidarity, economic security, healing and comfort, and the care for creation. We give thanks to everyone for praying with us this year and joining us once more this week.
If the Lord had not been my help,
my soul would soon have lived in the land of silence.
When I thought, “My foot is slipping,”
your steadfast love, O Lord, held me up.
When the cares of my heart are many,
your consolations cheer my soul. (Psalm 94:17-19)
Join us each week as we share new prayers for the vulnerable among us facing challenges, fears, and threats. We will name many of the harms unfolding and acknowledge what is being erased, lost, and threatened.
These prayers are not a replacement for action; they are meant to offer space for grounding and discernment as we seek to bear one another’s burdens in the love and way of Christ.
Join by Zoom each Monday at 11:45 a.m. ET to hear the prayers aloud, in the context of a simple liturgy, prayed by members of the Community of Francis and Clare.
For Those Who Suffer from Gambling Addiction
God of life, who rescues us from those things that separate us from you and from one another, we pray for those who suffer from gambling addiction. We lament the rise of online gambling and the harm that comes from its easy accessibility. As the month of March brings a surge in sports betting, comfort those who feel trapped in cycles they cannot break and grant them communities of support that might lead them out of habits that breed disconnection and pain. Break the bonds of addiction that we might return to our true life—a life of freedom, joy, and love. We need your help as you help us confront systems that bring suffering, and we need your help as we repair our own failures. Through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reign with you and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
For Human Connection in a Digital World
God of connection, who made the entire human family and calls us into ever-wider circles of belonging, we pray for those in need of human connection in our increasingly digital world. Grant them love and friendship, and set their paths in the direction of fellow pilgrims in this earthly life. We recognize how artificial intelligence and online disinformation is used to divide us. Grant us the wisdom to use technological resources rightly, and discernment when we see content that is meant to stir division. Help us recognize our need for in-person connection on the road to reconciliation. All this we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord, who is our truth and our guide. Amen.
For the People of Puerto Rico, Guam and All U.S. Territories
God of justice, who teaches the church to resist unjust systems and structures, we pray for Puerto Rico, Guam, and all U.S. territories whose people seek justice and equal care. Protect the disenfranchised, the vulnerable, and all those whose lives are affected by policies that mistreat. Grant wisdom to those in authority that they might legislate with care for all, especially those territories and regions that are disadvantaged. Sow seeds of solidarity between all citizens of this country, that we might act with loving responsibility towards one another, knowing that our lives are knit together in you. Grant this through the loving grace of your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.
