PRAYERS FOR THOSE WHO HAVE SUFFERED
ABUSE OF ANY KIND –
PHYSICAL, SEXUAL, PSYCHOLOGICAL OR EMOTIONAL.
Lord, we are so sorry for what some of us did to your children: treated them so cruelly, especially in their hour of need. We have left them with a lifelong suffering. This was not your plan for them or us. Please help us to help them. Guide us, Lord, Amen. (Prayer sent to Archbishop Martin by a survivor of abuse)
For you, O Lord, my soul in stillness waits.
Truly my hope is in you.
If we listen carefully in the stillness and silence of this
Advent day we can hear the cries of those who suffer as
a result of abuse. Maybe they are crying out with relief
because they have been heard at last. Maybe they are
crying out because of a hurt inflicted some time ago but
still aching as if it was done today. Maybe they are crying
out for justice and restoration, for dignity and peace.
Advent is a season of hope and new beginnings for the Church. May the structures that facilitated the suffering
t hat was inflicted on the vulnerable be washed away with the winter floods. May those whose neglect added pain to pain learn from their mistakes. May those who are suffering now find comfort and peace at last.
Opening Hymn: Healer of My Soul (John Michael Talbot)
Healer of my soul,
Keep me at even’
Keep me at morning
Keep me at noon,
Healer of my soul.
Keeper of my soul,
On rough course faring,
Help and safeguard,
My means this night,
Healer of my soul.
I am tired,
astray and stumbling,
Shield my soul,
From the snare of sin.
Healer of my soul,
Keep me at even’
Keep me at morning,
Keep me at noon,
Healer of my soul.
POEM Bubba Esther (Ruth Whitman)
She was still upset,
she wanted to tell me,
she kept remembering
the terrible hands:
how she came, a young girl
of seventeen, a freckled
fair-skinned Jew from Kovno
to Hamburg with her uncle
and stayed in an old house
and waited while he bought
the steamship tickets
so they could sail to America.
and how he came into her room
sat down on the bed, touched
her waist, took her by the
breast, said for a kiss
she could have her ticket,
her skirts were rumpled, her
petticoat torn,
his teeth were
broken, his breath full of
onions, she was ashamed
still ashamed, lying
eighty years later in the hospital bed,
trying to tell me,
trembling, weeping with anger.
PSALM 31
Response: The Lord is my light and my help
In you, O Lord I take refuge,
Let me never be put to shame.
In your justice, set me free,
Hear me and rescue me.
The Lord is my light and my help
Be a rock of refuge for me,
A mighty stronghold to save me,
For you are my rock, my stronghold.
For your names sake, lead me and guide me.
The Lord is my light and my help
Have mercy on me, O Lord,
For I am in distress
Tears wasted my eyes,
My throat and my heart.
The Lord is my light and my help
For my life spent with sorrow
And my years with sighs.
Affliction has broken down my strength
And my bones waste away
The Lord is my light and my help
How great is the goodness, Lord,
That you keep for those who fear you,
That you show to those who trust you
In the sight of men.
The Lord is my light and my help
Be strong, let your heart take courage,
All who hope in the Lord.
The Lord is my light and my help
INTERCESSIONS
In faith we confidently present our prayers of healing to God, our Creator:
‘If you want to you can heal me’ (Mark 1:40) – We pray for all those who have been abused physically, mentally, emotionally or sexually: That God will heal and comfort them.
Lord, hear our prayer.
‘If you want to you can heal me’ – We pray for all in the healing professions who minister to those who suffer as a result of violence or abuse: That God will give them an abundance of love, compassion and wisdom.
Lord, hear our prayer.
‘If you want to you can heal me’ – We pray for the Spirit of wisdom: That it will enlighten the minds of all people and lead to a growth in awareness and a determination to put an end to all acts of violence and abuse.
Lord, hear our prayer.
‘If you want to you can heal me’ – We pray for those for whom the burden of violence and abuse has proved too much to bear: That the God of love and mercy grant them everlasting peace and happiness.
Lord, hear our prayer.
Gentle and ever-loving God, hear the prayers of your people,
Amen.
CLOSING PRAYER
God our rock and our strength on whom we lean,
Help us to create an atmosphere of trust which allows the unspeakable to be said.
Help us to live with our painful memories.
May we support each other and be safe places for each other,
We pray in the name of Jesus, your compassion made flesh,
Who lives with you and the Spirit, now and for ever. Amen.
From the book Circle of Care – Liturgies for times of special need, a book of thoughtful prayers, reflections and liturgies designed to bring some of the healing light of Christ to a range of sensitive pastoral situations ranging from birth to death. Editor Fr Pat ODonoghue. Available from Veritas Publications. www.veritas.ie
