6. INTERCESSION
We call to mind the fact that individuals are bought and sold
to satisfy the wants and greed of others – economic
greed, seeking power over others, sexual satisfaction:
We pray that all men and women involved in trafficking will
come to see that, in satisfying the wants of others, they
inflict untold cruelty on the innocent.
Taize (Sing or say)
O Lord hear my prayer
O Lord hear my prayer
When I call, answer
me …(Repeat)
We call to mind the suffering of trafficked
children, deprived of the love and care within a family, living
in fear, deprived of physical needs and education, unlikely
to survive into adulthood:
(Pause)
We pray for all children trafficked far from their homeland
into lives of suffering and want … that they will be
found and rescued.
Taize (Sing or say)
O Lord hear my prayer
O Lord hear my prayer
When I call, answer
me …(Repeat)
We hold in our hearts all those religious and
lay women who are involved in the movement Against Human Trafficking
throughout the world:
(Pause)
We ask that doors will open for them so that they can more
successfully work to bring about changes in law which support
the repatriation of trafficked individuals.
Taize (Sing or say)
O Lord hear my prayer
O Lord hear my prayer
When I call, answer
me …(Repeat)
We pray for all officials working in government
agencies – in embassies and consulates, in customs,
at border crossings, in police forces and in the judicial
system:
(Pause)
That they will be above corruption and have the skills to
recognise the signs of fear and coercion in trafficked individuals
passing through their areas of surveillance.
Taize (Sing or say)
O Lord hear my prayer
O Lord hear my prayer
When I call, answer
me …(Repeat)
We pray for those religious and lay people who
put themselves at risk by becoming actively involved in anti-trafficking
movements:
(Pause)
That they will have the spiritual, human and financial support
they need and that they will be safe.
Taize (Sing or say)
O Lord hear my prayer
O Lord hear my prayer
When I call, answer me …(Repeat)
Any other intention or prayer may be added.
LET US PRAY TOGETHER
Almighty and loving God, you who created all people in your
image,
Lead us to become individuals of deep compassion as we read
and reflect on the stories of affliction suffered by trafficked
men, women and children.
You gave your only Son, Jesus, who died and rose again so
that sins will be forgiven.
We place before you today the pain and anguish of the trafficked
who are deprived of land, language, culture, family and the
hope of justice.
We live in faith that you will hear our prayer for them so
that they will escape from the pain and hopelessness of their
situations. Touch their spirits with hope and heal their suffering
bodies.
We are sorry on behalf of our human brothers and sisters
who inflict such pain. We ask forgiveness and conversion for
them.
Help each of us to grow in compassion and in gratitude for
our own freedom and the riches we enjoy.
We make our prayer through Christ our Lord. Amen. |
