Prayers for Italy

Migration across the Mediterranean is the thread running longest through the prayers for Italy, with rescue at sea, closed ports, and asylum seekers awaiting welcome. Earthquakes, a bridge collapse, drought in the north, and the pandemic are named too, along with thanks for work against trafficking.

Am I My Brother’s Keeper: A Prayer for Refugees, Asylum Seekers and Detained Migrants (February 13, 2025)

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Our Backs Tell Stories: A Prayer Honoring Women Confronting Gender Based Violence (January 9, 2025)

“Our backs tell stories no books have the spine to carry.” – Rupi Kaur Divine Mother, our world is filled with great sorrow. The tragedy of violence against women across continents is alarming, and yet, it continues to increase in volume. Heal us, protect us, and inspire us to demand change. Thank you for the […]

In the Way of Saint Francis: Prayers for the World’s Poorest Nations and 120 Million Displaced (October 3, 2024)

We center ourselves in prayer with you O Lord. The feast day of Francis of Assisi (1182-1226) is October 4. We pray on how he modelled humility, concern for poor people; practicing a vow of poverty, peace and nonviolence, and care for creation for generations to come. Born into a wealthy Italian merchant family, Francis […]

Gather Us In: Prayers for Israel and Lebanon, Haiti’s Elections and Storm Boris (September 19, 2024)

“How do you choose which news to include in the prayers?” That’s a common question those of us who take turns writing the weekly prayers get asked. Sometimes, it’s more pointed: “Why did you mention this, but not that?” But there’s neither magic nor malice involved – we are all too human. We gather news, from a […]

We Have Inherited a Garden: A Prayer for Climate Action and Our Common Home (October 5, 2023)

Future generations will never forgive us if we miss the opportunity to protect our common home. We have inherited a garden; we must not leave a desert for our children. (This quote is lifted from a joint appeal signed at the Vatican October 4 , 2023 – the feast of St. Francis of Assisi and […]

The Thinnest Silence: A Prayer About Listening for the Voice of God (September 28, 2023)

Holy One, Divine Creator, whom some name God, we pray every week for so many things: for those suffering from effects of climate change and the earthquakes, the hurricanes, the super droughts, super fires, and the super floods; for children and women abused and sold and trafficked even in our modern era of development; for […]

Thanksgivings, Concerns, and Celebrations: Prayers for Ukraine, Kenya, and a World in Heat (July 20, 2023)

Mother God, we come to you with thanksgivings. We are grateful to be loved by You. We are grateful for hands to hold, for kindness, and for grace. We are grateful for sunshine, rain, and rainbows. We are grateful for the farmers and laborers who give us our daily bread. We are grateful for forgiveness. […]

Incline Your Ear: Prayers After the Kakhovka Dam Collapse and Odisha Train Crash (June 8, 2023)

I love the LORD, because God has heard my voice and my supplications. Because God inclined God’s ear to me, therefore I will call on the Lord as long as I live. The snares of death encompassed me; the pangs of Sheol laid hold on […]

Fearfully and Wonderfully Made: A Mother’s Day Prayer for Women and Children (May 18, 2023)

For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. Psalm 139:13-14 God, you cherish our mothers and children. Mother’s Day is celebrated in over fifty countries, some as the US […]

A Time for Everything: Prayers for Drought, Ukraine, and Afghanistan’s Children (May 4, 2023)

To the one who is not limited by time, we pray for life in a world where time is often of the essence. Move us to be mindful that there is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: Bless the springtime bursting forth with rich soil for planting, cool rains […]