Prayer of the Faithful/Petitions for Sunday, October 25, 2015

Ellen McHugh wrote these beautiful petitions for St. Mary's Church in Painesville, Ohio, for the October 25th masses:

Prayer of the Faithful for October 25, 2015

30th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Celebrant:  As we celebrate our coming together for the Eucharist, let us, dear sisters and brothers, approach the one God to voice all our needs.

·         That we may be inspired by our Holy Father, Pope Francis, who invites us all “to respond to the God of love who saves us, to see God in others and to go forth from ourselves to seek the good of others.”  We pray to the Lord. 

·         For a deeper sense of gratitude for the beautiful mystery celebrated today; we pray especially for our priests here at St. Mary: Father Steve, Father John, and Father Chris, who make Jesus present for us through the grace and gift of ordination.  We pray to the Lord.

·         For a greater awareness of the richness of every vocation to love Christ; we pray that more men and women will respond to Our Lord’s invitation to follow Him as priests, deacons and in the consecrated life.  We pray to the Lord.

·         That we may all be inspired by today’s Gospel; that the healing of Bartimaeus, who many sought to silence, may serve to inspire us in our daily lives to see Jesus fully and to respond to His mercy with faith, hope, and gratitude.  We pray to the Lord.

·         That as a people of faith we stand witness to the destructive power of gun violence. Never let our prayers serve as an excuse for inaction; motivate and empower us as individuals and as a nation to address our culture of gun violence with laws that serve to prevent violence and promote life.  We pray to the Lord.

·         Protect and defend those living with mental illness from exploitation, addictions and abuse.

Empower us to speak up for those who do not have a voice; guide us that we may unite to provide for and protect the poor, the homeless and those who suffer in mind, body and spirit.  We pray to the Lord.

·         And for those for whom this Mass is offered [name them].  We pray to the Lord

·         Let us pause now and silently offer to the Father our own particular intentions [allow for     silence. . .].  We pray to the Lord.

Celebrant:  Father, we believe that you will hear and respond to our sincere prayers, asked in the name of your Son, and in the power of your Spirit, one God, forever and ever.  Amen.  

Just Thoughts--A Call for Common-Sense Gun Safety Measures

[Krista Zivkovich wrote this "Just Thoughts" column; it will appear in the October 25th bulletin of St. Mary's in Painesville, Ohio.]

Just Thoughts:

Faith Communities Calling for Common-Sense Gun Safety Measures

Our Catholic Bishops have long called on Congress to pass basic laws that would almost certainly cut down on the amount of gun violence in our country. The life of each  person God has created is precious to Him, and as individuals living in community with each other, we have a duty to respect the dignity and value of each life and to do what is within our power to protect the lives of His beloved people.

Many people have said, and rightly so, that laws alone will not prevent the kind of mass shootings to which our country is becoming all too accustomed.  However, many reasonable people agree that some common-sense measures will help to curb this plague of gun violence.

As you have probably heard or read often, the United States has more incidences of gun violence than any other developed country in the world. Following the December 2012 killing of 27 first graders and teachers in their classroom in Newtown, Connecticut, many Americans believed that Congress would act to pass basic gun safety measures.  In June another mass killing took place in Charleston, SC as members of AME Emanuel church gathered to pray and study Scripture in their church. Gun violence resulting in multiple deaths continued this summer around the country in a movie theater, an Army recruiting station and on live television. Gun violence touched our own parish family and last month took the life of a 5 year old Cleveland child while he played in his yard.

The Catholic Bishops have sent statements and letters to Congress urging them to pass gun safety measures. But has each of us made that same demand of our elected representatives?   Let us, members of the St. Mary faith community, join our voices together and call for changes in the gun safety laws. The Lake/Geauga Diocesan Social Action Commission has written a petition calling for the same 4 gun safety measures called for by the U.S. Bishops.  This weekend after each Mass, the petition will be available to sign in the Good Shepherd entrance. The petitions will be forwarded to our representatives in Congress and in Columbus.

The petition can also be found on the Catholic Charities website: Link to the petition. Or cut and past this address into your browser:

http://cqrcengage.com/ccdocle/app/sign-petition?2&engagementId=124658

Just Thoughts: Stop the Murders!

Just Thoughts: We Must Act to End This Violence

The world was stunned these past days by the cold-blooded murder of nine people (eight students and their 67-year-old teacher) at Umpquah Community College in Roseburg, Oregon and the wounding of about ten others. The killer brought six guns to the college, five handguns and a semiautomatic rifle, and had seven more guns back at his apartment. Reports say that these guns were purchased legally. This past month in the city of Cleveland, three little children, including a six-month-old baby, were killed in crossfire from gang shootings. And who can forget that three years ago in Chardon, three students were murdered and three wounded in their high school cafeteria. The sorrow is almost unbearable.

The world weeps for these students and these babies--and wonders how this could happen in the richest, most privileged country in the world. Some politicians have said what amounts to “stuff happens” or “there’s nothing we can do about it.” But that is clearly false because murders like this almost never happen in most of the world’s developed countries.

The environment in which such murders can happen is the result of poor social and political and legal structures. We can make laws and rules and procedures that both allow us our constitutional rights yet make this level of violence and murder far less likely.

Surely a problem like this calls out for action on many fronts: scholars and experts must come up with good sociological and psychological analyses; we need to better understand the biological factors behind violence. We must enact laws and procedures that make such violence much less possible. That last point is our responsibility: we are the voters; we have to elect leaders who will act and not continually roadblock progress on this front.

We have great models in the power of nonviolence. Mahatma Gandhi taught us the effectiveness of truth-force without the use of violence. Martin Luther King used nonviolent techniques in America in the fight for civil rights. And of course Jesus is the great teacher in the rejection of violence to achieve justice.

Failing to act can be nothing but a sin. We must start right away. A good beginning would be to teach our children to reject violence to achieve one’s goals. We are the hands and feet of the Lord. We need to pray to the Lord--and then get busy with our hands and feet and mind, creating a more peaceful world.

A Little Poem Remembering the Slaughter at Charleston's Emanuel AME Church

O America! Land of the Gun

(in memory of the slaughtered at Charleston’s Emanuel AME Church, June 17, 2015)

O America! Land of the Gun

I weep for thee

and all thy murdered children,

mothers, grandmothers,

fathers, sons, and daughters.

Your flaw is a knife wound

deep into this heart.

Your sin could be healed,

If you only had the will.

Bob Coughlin / June 18, 2015



[I know this poem is a bit odd. I begin using the older words "thee" and "thy" because this part of the poem reminds me of prayers and hymns written in that old voice. I was also thinking of Walt Whitman's use of those words--and Allen Ginsburg. Then I switch gears and use the more modern words "you" and "your(s)." I'm speaking more directly, in a more modern voice here. Another switch I made was from the language of guns to the image of a knife. That was certainly on purpose. I thought how guns are not the only instruments of murder; you can kill with knives and fists too! But guns are the main weapons of mass murder in America. And guns are easily available to anyone--from psychopaths to murderous haters. The end of the poem uses religious terms ("sin" and "healing") and implies that things can be done to change this situation, but the will doesn't seem to be there.]