{"id":1648,"date":"2023-02-08T15:25:50","date_gmt":"2023-02-08T20:25:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/redchairblogs.wpengine.com\/holymoly\/?p=1648"},"modified":"2023-02-08T15:25:50","modified_gmt":"2023-02-08T20:25:50","slug":"a-litany-to-voice-what-our-soul-longs-to-pray","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.lynchburg.edu\/holymoly\/2023\/02\/08\/a-litany-to-voice-what-our-soul-longs-to-pray\/","title":{"rendered":"A Litany to Voice What Our Soul Longs to Pray"},"content":{"rendered":"

Every time I have checked the New York Times this week, the death toll from the earthquake in Turkey and Syria has increased by thousands. If I\u2019m honest, I find myself wanting to read all about it while also wanting to ignore it completely. It\u2019s hard to write words in response to such horrific events, let alone process it.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In times like this, I often turn to the poems and prayers of others. It seems they often voice what my soul desires to say long before I can put words together. I\u2019ve adapted the following prayer by Fran Pratt from her book, <\/span>Call and Response: Litanies for Congregational Prayer<\/span><\/i>. May it voice what your soul longs to say.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Divine Restorer of All Things,
\n<\/span><\/em>We look to you in times of trouble and loss.
\n<\/span><\/em>We know you weep, oh God, with those who weep.
\n<\/span><\/em>You mourn with those who mourn.\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Divine Comforter, have mercy upon your people;
\n<\/span><\/em>Those who have breathed their last,
\n<\/span><\/em>Those who are injured and wounded,
\n<\/span><\/em>Those who see unimaginable destruction,
\n<\/span><\/em>Those who are weighed down by deep grief.\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

You weep, oh God, with those who weep.
\n<\/span><\/em>You mourn with those who mourn.\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Divine One, we give thanks for those who have survived,
\n<\/span><\/em>For the ones who have helped and responded,
\n<\/span><\/em>For the people who embody love,
\n<\/span><\/em>For the rescuers who will not stop.\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

You weep, oh God, with those who weep.
\n<\/span><\/em>You mourn with those who mourn.\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Heal your people, oh God.
\n<\/span><\/em>Rescue them from distress,
\n<\/span><\/em>Enfold them in your kindness,
\n<\/span><\/em>Surround them in your care.\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

You weep, oh God, with those who weep.
\n<\/span><\/em>You mourn with those who mourn.\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Make of us all a strong and resilient people:
\n<\/span><\/em>A people prone to compassion,
\n<\/span><\/em>A people prone to good works,
\n<\/span><\/em>A people prone to patience,
\n<\/span><\/em>A people prone to listening,
\n<\/span><\/em>A people healed and whole, dedicated to justice and peace.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

You weep, oh God, with those who weep.
\n<\/span><\/em>You mourn with those who mourn. <\/span><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Every time I have checked the New York Times this week, the death toll from the earthquake in Turkey and Syria has increased by thousands. If I\u2019m honest, I find myself wanting to read all about it while also wanting …<\/p>\n

A Litany to Voice What Our Soul Longs to Pray<\/span> Read More »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1648","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1QIf6-qA","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lynchburg.edu\/holymoly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1648","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lynchburg.edu\/holymoly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lynchburg.edu\/holymoly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lynchburg.edu\/holymoly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lynchburg.edu\/holymoly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1648"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lynchburg.edu\/holymoly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1648\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lynchburg.edu\/holymoly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1648"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lynchburg.edu\/holymoly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1648"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lynchburg.edu\/holymoly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1648"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}