We pray in order to give voice to the longings of our heart.
Our hearts go out to the more than 430,000 refugees who have crossed the Mediterranean Sea to Europe this year, and for those nearly 3,000 who have died or gone missing as they sought asylum in unseaworthy boats or at the hands of unscrupulous human traffickers.
Our hearts go out to the Syrians:
- the 250,000 Syrians who have been killed in four years of brutal war;
- the 7.6 million Syrians, half of the country’s population, who have been forced from their homes, including the 4 million who have fled the country;
- the one million more Syrians who will flee the war before year’s end.
Our hearts go out to the families of the 17 people drowned in Utah this week in flash floods.
Our hearts go out to those in California who have lost everything to wild fires that have destroyed homes and immense tracts of timberland and threatened the majestic and ancient redwoods. Many humans and many other animals have lost their homes.
Our hearts go out to Chile, still bracing against aftershocks of Wednesday’s 8.3 magnitude earthquake. Eleven died, and a million have been evacuated as a safety precaution.
Our hearts go out to the people of the Philippines, as they face a presidential election in the midst of many political scandals. We hope for them a leader of integrity, intellect, experience, and political will.
And to the people of our own country. May we and our fellow citizens learn to stop rewarding politicians who speak falsely. May we insist on the truth, even when it is complicated, even when it does not fit our preconceptions – for we have the politicians we deserve, and if the people are not committed to truth, our politicians will not be.
May we always have the courage to answer with love, with humility, with compassion.
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