Vigil of Prayer in solidarity
with Trafficked women, men and children throughout the world.
‘Not for Sale Sunday’
Whenever your Church wants to Make a Difference
(Suggested opening hymn - Optional
Song of Ruth - Father we come in prayer)
Opening Prayer
Creator God, we believe that the human person is the clearest
reflection of your presence in our world. All of our work
in pursuit of both justice and peace is designed to protect
and promote the dignity of every person, as an expression
of your creative work and the meaning of Christ’s redemptive
ministry. Be with us as we reflect on the plight of all those
women, men and children whose dignity is violated through
trafficking for sexual exploitation.
(Adapted from The Challenge of Peace, No 15
US Bishops, 1983)
Psalm 116 (from Psalm-Prayers for every mood, Kevin
Lyon)
I love the Lord because he hears my prayers. He bends down
and listens.
So I will pray as long as I breathe!
Death stared me in the face. I was afraid and sad. Then I
cried, ‘Lord save me!’
How kind he is! How good he is! This God of ours is so merciful!
I was facing death and then he saved me. Now I can rest.
For the Lord has done this miracle for me. He has saved me
from death.
He has dried my eyes from tears.
My feet from stumbling, that I may walk before you, Lord,
in the land of the living.
What return can I make, for all the good Lord has done for
me?
I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of
the Lord.
I will bring him the sacrifice I promised. I will do this
in front of all the people.
His loved ones are very special to him. He does not lightly
let them die.
O Lord, you have freed me from my chains, I will serve you
forever.
I will worship you always. I will give you a sacrifice of
thanks.
Glory be to the Father…
Reading Luke 8:43-48
As Jesus went along, the people were crowding him from every
side. Among them was a woman who had suffered from severe
bleeding for twelve years; she had spent all she had on doctors,
but no one had been able to cure her. She came up in the crowd
behind Jesus and touched the edge of his cloak, and her bleeding
stopped at once. Jesus asked, “Who touched me?”
Everyone denied it, and Peter said, “Master, the people
are all round you and crowding in on you.” But Jesus
said, “Someone touched me, for I knew it when power
went out of me.” The woman saw that she had been found
out, so she came trembling and threw herself at Jesus’
feet. There in front of everybody, she told him why she had
touched him and how she had been healed at once. Jesus said
to her, “My daughter, your faith has made you well.
Go in peace.”
Litany
Blessed are you who work for justice…
who welcome the outcast, befriend the migrant and cast off
the yoke of slavery from trafficked sisters and brothers.
May the kingdom come
Blessed are you who work for justice...
who risk you own security to help others in need, care for
the innocent and act to uphold human rights and dignity.
May the kingdom come
Blessed are you who work for justice...
who seek to bring hope and healing, compassion and liberation
to the oppressed, and walk in solidarity with them.
May the kingdom come
Blessed are you who work for justice...
who open doors for acting justly, loving tenderly, and walking
humbly with God.
May the kingdom come
Creed
I believe in the equality of all, rich and poor.
I believe in liberty.
I believe in humanity through which we can create unity.
I believe in the love within each of us, and in the home,
happy and healthy.
I believe in the forgiveness of our sins.
I believe that with divine help we will have the strength
to establish equality in society.
I believe in unity, the only way to achieve peace.
I believe that together we can obtain justice
(Young people of Ayacucho, Peru)
Prayer for an end to Trafficking
O God, our words cannot express what our minds can barely
comprehend and our hearts feel when we hear of women and girls
deceived and transported to unknown places for purposes of
sexual exploitation and abuse because of human greed and profit.
Our hearts are saddened and our spirits angry that their
dignity and rights are being transgressed through threats,
deception and force.
We cry out against the degrading practice of trafficking and
pray for it to end.
Strengthen the fragile-spirited and broken-hearted.
Make real your promises to fill these our sisters and brothers
with a love that is tender and good and send the exploiters
away empty-handed. Give us the wisdom and courage to stand
in solidarity with them that together we will find ways to
the freedom that is your gift to all of us. Amen.
(School Sisters of Notre Dame, Canadian Province)
Final Blessing
May God’s Arms Surround You
May the roots of faith grow strong within you.
May your vision of peace be like a clear sky.
May you be touched by the lightning flash of bright hope.
May you drink deeply at the well of joy.
May the love of God
Be your blanket and your pillow,
Your bed and your room,
And may God’s arms surround you
Now and forever more.
Amen
© Christina Rees 2006
(Taken from Not for Sale Sunday Website) |
