Prayer For Refugee
Lord Jesus, when you multiplied the loaves and fishes, you provided more than food for the body, you offered us the gift of yourself, the gift which satisfies every hunger and quenches every thirst! Your disciples were filled with fear and doubt, but you poured out your love and compassion on the migrant crowd, welcoming them as brothers and sisters.
Lord Jesus, today you call us to welcome the members of God's family who come to our land to escape oppression, poverty, persecution, violence, and war. Like your disciples, we too are filled with fear and doubt and even suspicion. We build barriers in our hearts and in our minds.
Lord Jesus, help us by your grace,
To banish fear from our hearts, that we may embrace each of your children as our own brother and sister;
To welcome migrants and refugees with joy and generosity, while responding to their many needs;
To realize that you call all people to your holy mountain to learn the ways of peace and justice;
To share of our abundance as you spread a banquet before us;
To give witness to your love for all people, as we celebrate the many gifts they bring.
We praise you and give you thanks for the family you have called together from so many people. We see in this human family a reflection of the divine unity of the one Most Holy Trinity in whom we make our prayer: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
God of our Wandering Ancestors,
Long have we known
That your heart is with the refugee:
That you were born into time
In a family of refugees
Fleeing violence in their homeland,
Who then gathered up their hungry child
And fled into alien country.
Their cry, your cry, resounds through the ages:
Will you let me in?
Give us hearts that break open
When our brothers and sisters turn to us with that same cry.
Then surely all these things will follow:
Ears will no longer turn deaf to their voices.
Eyes will see a moment for grace instead of a threat.
Tongues will not be silenced but will instead advocate.
And hands will reach out
working for peace in their homeland, working for justice in the lands where they seek safe haven.
Lord, protect all refugees in their travels.
May they find a friend in me
And so make me worthy
Of the refuge I have found in you.
AMEN
Abba Father, our beloved Father,
look down with mercy on us and all refugees.
Remember your son, our Lord Jesus Christ,
had to leave his homeland and flee to Egypt,
when he was a baby,
with his mother, Mary,
and foster father, Joseph.
Help us to be aware
of the fears, anxiety, pain, sorrow,
difficulties and uncertainty all refugees suffer,
and to remember that we all belong
to the same human family.
Holy Spirit,
please give us compassion and courage
to help them in any way we can.
Amen.
Mary, Mother of God, pray for us.
St. Joseph, pray for us.
God of love and compassion: may we always recognize your spirit:
in the refugee family, seeking safety from violence;
in the migrant worker, bringing food to our tables;
in the asylum-seekers, seeking justice for their families;
in the unaccompanied child, traveling in a dangerous world.
Give us hearts that break open whenever our brothers and sisters turn to us.
Give us hearts that no longer turn deaf to their voices in times of need;
Give us eyes to recognize a moment for grace instead of a threat.
Give us voices that fail to remain silent but which decide instead to advocate prophetically.
Give us hands that reach out in welcome, but also in work, for a world of justice until all homelands are safe and secure.
Bless us, O Lord...
Lord God, help us to remember those who tonight will go to sleep unfed and unwelcome,
strangers in foreign lands, people who have fled for their lives and are far from their homes.
We lift up to you those who are escaping persecution and conflict, having fled death, torture or ruthless exploitation.
So many carry wounds, mental and physical. So many have suffered greatly.
Lord Jesus, give us more of your compassion for their plight, soften our hearts to their situation,
and help us follow your lead in seeking justice and mercy on their behalf.
We pray for an end to the wars, poverty and human rights abuses that drive desperate people to become refugees in the first place.
We give thanks for people working in troubled countries and ask for more of
your blessing so we can bring life, dignity and hope to those that remain.
We thank you that you are Lord of all the earth and all its people are loved by you.
We pray these things in the name of your Son who was himself born into the troubled life of a refugee.
Lord Jesus, today you call us to welcome the members of God's family who come to our land to escape oppression, poverty, persecution, violence, and war. Like your disciples, we too are filled with fear and doubt and even suspicion. We build barriers in our hearts and in our minds.
Help us by your grace,
To banish fear from our hearts, that we may embrace each of your children as our own brother and sister;
To welcome migrants and refugees with joy and generosity, while responding to their many needs;
To realize that you call all people to your holy mountain to learn the ways of peace and justice;
To share of our abundance as you spread a banquet before us;
To give witness to your love for all people, as we celebrate the many gifts they bring.
We praise you and give you thanks for the family you have called together from so many people. We see in this human family a reflection of the divine unity of the one most Holy Trinity in whom we make our prayer.
We thank you for opening the hearts of many to those who are fleeing for their lives.
Help us now to open our arms in welcome, and reach out our hands in support.
That the desperate may find new hope, and lives torn apart be restored.
We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ who fled persecution at his birth
and at his last triumphed over death.
Merciful God,we pray to you for all the men, women and children who have died after leaving their homelands in search of a better life.
Though many of their graves bear no name, to you each one is known, loved and cherished.
May we never forget them, but honour their sacrifice with deeds more than words. We entrust to you all those who have made this journey, enduring fear, uncertainty and humiliation, in order to reach a place of safety and hope.
Just as you never abandoned your Son as he was brought to a safe place by Mary and Joseph, so now be close to these, your sons and daughters, through our tenderness and protection.
In caring for them may we seek a world where none are forced to leave their home and where all can live in freedom, dignity and peace.
Merciful God and Father of all, wake us from the slumber of indifference, open our eyes to their suffering, and free us from the insensitivity born of worldly comfort and self-centredness.
Inspire us, as nations, communities and individuals, to see that those who come to our shores are our brothers and sisters.
May we share with them the blessings we have received from your hand, and recognize that together, as one human family, we are all migrants, journeying in hope to you, our true home, where every tear will be wiped away, where we will be at peace and safe in your embrace.