Prayer For Innocent Victims
Lord God,
no one is a stranger to you
and no one is ever far from your loving care.
In your kindness, watch over refugees and victims of war,
those separated from their loved ones,
young people who are lost,
and those who have left home or who have run away from home.
Bring them back safely to the place where they long to be
and help us always to show your kindness
to strangers and to all in need
Grant this through Christ our Lord.
Lord God,
Remember Christ your Son who is peace itself
and who has washed away our hatred with His blood.
Because you love all men and women,
look with mercy on all who are engaged in battle.
Banish the violence and evil within all combatants
so that one day, we may all deserve to be
called your sons and your daughters.
Grant this through Christ our Lord.
God and Father of Our Lord Jesus Christ,
Hear my prayer for these soldiers under my command.
Grant that I may bring the spirit of Christ
to all my efforts and orders
as I exercise my authority over those entrusted to my care.
Inform my judgment with your Holy Spirit
so that I may make decisions
in conformity with your law and for the common good.
Grant this through Christ our Lord.
Look down on us, O Mary!
We are united before you in prayer, as you wished us to be:
daughters of Charity, the queen of virtues.
Look down on us with the benevolence of a mother.
We ask your help and protection, peace and pardon,
apostolic zeal and fidelity to the Church,
for ourselves and all who work in society
with an upright heart and good will.
Many are the afflictions of the world,
the miseries of the poor,
the violence performed by those who do not know how to love,
and are carried away by brutal passions.
And we do not know how to see the warnings from heaven
in the calamities that are increasing
and the sacrifice of defenseless and innocent victims.
But you, Mary, are the Mother of Mercy and Forgiveness.
Ask grace for us! Ask God for us and for all,
an increase of faith, the comfort of Christian hope
and the communion of evangelical charity.
May the Father grant the Church unity and testimony of life;
to society, a fraternal spirit,
understanding of every need, sorrow and aspiration;
to Religious families newness of life in your light, O Mary,
in the Spirit of the love of your Son Jesus, our Savior.
Amen.
Lord God,
your own Son was delivered into the hands of the wicked,
yet he prayed for his persecutors
and overcame hatred with the blood of the Cross.
Relive the sufferings of the innocent victims of war;
grant them peace of mind, healing of body,
and a renewed faith in your protection and care.
Grant this through Christ our Lord.
Lord, watch over the victims who perished at the hands of others. Deliver them from earthly care and distress. May they enjoy eternal felicity in Your presence.
Lord, intend for good the actions intended for evil. Restrain those who would seek to profit from the pain of others. Restrain others who would be attracted to form their own script for evil. May they not view violence toward others as justice or a balm for their own suffering.
Lord comfort and console the survivors. Let them heal from the trauma of the events that have harmed their sense of security and trust. May they be surrounded by love and human warmth. May any physical wounds heal quickly. Let compassion abound and may they laugh and experience joy once again. May each passing day diminish their grief and soften the pain of their memories. May they not experience false guilt for surviving when other did not survive.
Lord help those who are relatives of the victims put their world back together. Let them eventually see some purpose, realize a greater meaning. Do not let hate and anger replace hope and faith in what is left of their lives. Let them only remember the good in those they have lost. Let them cherish and share what memories they have. May they find thankfulness for the time they did share with those who were taken from them. Please help them transcend a terrible grief and seemingly endless nightmare.
Lord help the community come together and recommit to caring for and supporting one another. Let other communities that have suffered as well, reach out and offer their knowing compassion. Let them offer ways to cope.
Lord let us who have suffered from afar not look away from what has happened. Let us see this as our family also. Help us to not defend ourselves with denial, insulate ourselves in our homes, and drug ourselves with distractions. Help us to examine our own lives and private thoughts. Convict us when we fail to care. Let us better understand the toxicity and contagion of violence. Help us to continue to love and trust others. Let the lessons of this violence yield honesty and humility, not cynicism. May our prayers ascend for peace, mercy and forgiveness.
Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy, Lord have mercy. Amen.
Lord God, your own Son was delivered into the hands of the wicked, yet he prayed for his persecutors and overcame hatred with the blood of the Cross. Relive the sufferings of the innocent victims of war; grant them peace of mind, healing of body, and a renewed faith in your protection and care. Grant this through Christ our Lord.