Today – Thursday, May 6th – is a National Day of Prayer in the United States. From the reference books in the archives, the following prayer was found. It is taken from the book Living No Longer for Ourselves: Liturgy and Justice in the Nineties in a chapter by H. Kathleen Hughes, RSCJ called ‘The
Voice of the Church at Prayer.’ (p. 106) The footnote says it is the opening prayer from the Mass for the Progress of Peoples. It’s lovely! And still relevant in this new millenium.
Father,
you have given all peoples one common origin,
and your will is to gather them as one family in yourself.
Fill the hearts of all men [and women] with the fire of your love
and the desire to ensure justice for all their brothers and sisters.
By sharing the good things you give us
may we secure justice and equality for every human being,
an end to all division,
as a human society built on love and peace.
We ask this….