As the Christian world celebrates the holiest three days of the year, we lift in prayer the people of the very lands that Jesus trod before he rose to deliver us from sin. Unfortunately, the first stage of the ceasefire between the Israelis and the Palestinians expired last month and the combating parties and outside negotiator nations failed to agree to a second phase to the ceasefire. Humanitarian aid has not entered Gaza for over a month. 2.1 million people are besieged as food, medicine and fuel pile up at blocked crossings.
God of salvation, who protected Noah and his family while the world was flooding around it, who parted the Red Sea to allow the Israelites to outpace their Egyptian owners, and who fed the Israelites with manna in the desert, soften the hearts of gatekeepers who prevent necessary supplies from the besieged Gaza.
Over 1,000 children have reportedly been killed or injured in just the first week after the breakdown of the ceasefire, the highest one-week death toll among children in Gaza in the past year.
God of salvation, who saved the lives of Moses and Jesus while government leaders were massacring infant boys around them, protect the lives of these innocent children in Gaza.
No one is safe in Gaza. At least 408 humanitarian workers, including over 280 from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), have been killed since October 2023.
God of Dr.Martin Luther King, Saint Archbishop Oscar Romero, and Sr. Dorothy Stang, protect the lives of the innocent and defenseless. We pray for the day when martyrs will be feted and not defeated.
On Palm Sunday morning, an Israeli air strike destroyed the intensive care and surgery departments of al Ahli Arab Hospital, the last fully functional hospital in Gaza City. The hospital is run by the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem (part of the Anglican Communion), not by Hamas.
God of St. Luke, known as the physician, restore the recognized sanctity of all medical facilities, that warring forces will cease to consider them to be legitimate targets for attack.
As the war in Gaza continues, Israel has launched a war in the West Bank, hidden from the eyes of the world. The Israeli army is carrying out the largest displacement of Palestinians in the West Bank from their homes since 1967. According to OCHA, already over 40, 000 Palestinians have been displaced, and are currently living without shelter, essential services, and healthcare.
But because he wished to justify himself, he said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
Jesus replied, “A man fell victim to robbers as he went down from Jerusalem to Jericho. They stripped and beat him and went off leaving him half-dead. A priest happened to be going down that road, but when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side. Likewise a Levite came to the place, and when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side. But a Samaritan traveler who came upon him was moved with compassion at the sight. He approached the victim, poured oil and wine over his wounds and bandaged them. Then he lifted him up on his own animal, took him to an inn and cared for him. The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper with the instruction, ‘Take care of him. If you spend more than what I have given you, I shall repay you on my way back.’ Which of these three, in your opinion, was neighbor to the robbers’ victim?” He answered, “The one who treated him with mercy.” Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”
At least 23 people have been killed in an Israeli airstrike on April 8 that hit a residential building in northern Gaza, as reports emerged that the Israeli military is preparing to seize the entire city of Rafah as part of a newly -announced security corridor. Meanwhile, let us also not forget that since April 1, at least 23 rockets and ballistic missiles have been fired at Israel, both from Gaza and Yemen. Although all were intercepted by Israel’s missile shield, still the country lives in constant fear, unable to believe that there are people in Gaza who wish to be peacemakers.
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace:
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy.
O divine Master, grant that I 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.
The United States government is illegally cancelling the visas of hundreds of international students at U.S. universities, alleging they were fostering antisemitism by engaging in protests against Israel’s attacks on Gaza. However, that is not a legal reason to cancel their visas, since the U.S. Constitution guarantees the right of free speech to all persons in the country. The students have also not been given the legally-required opportunity for a visa-revocation hearing before a judge before being told to leave the country.
This week we pray to You to guarantee free speech to all in the United States, citizens, visitors, students, and immigrants alike. Without high levels of it, those in the U.S. shall become oppressed and at the mercy of blind leaders who have not thought through their policies nor recognized the failures of historical precedents. We pray that You continue to shine the light of Truth through the academics, journalists and investigators who are challenging the current administration. Please, Lord Jesus, hear our prayer.
We collect all of our thoughts and prayers for the inhabitants of the Holy Land as we pray in the words of Catholic Relief Services:
God of our longing,
Remember those who hope and wait for peace.
Hear our prayer and our lament for our brothers and sisters in Israel and Palestine.
With them we share a common story, set in a common homeland.
Make common also a will to forgive,
to reconcile,
to make just peace for the sake of our ancestors,
for the sake of the children.
Open ears, eyes, and hearts
and make a way toward justice in our war-torn world.
God all merciful, you dwell in all human hearts
And the Holy Land is wherever you make your home.
Heal those places where prophets preached
Where Mose, Jesus, and Muhammed kept faith with you.
Be a sure support for those who work toward reconciliation
And make us all, however far away, steadfast in their cause.
Amen.
Leave a Reply