Simple prayers complicated times
Enjoy these simple prayers compiled during the coronvirus pandemic by Nirma from Venezuela
CAFOD delivers a petition to the Foreign Office, Westminster, as part of the Fix the Food System campaign.
“Jesus cried out in a loud voice, ‘Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?’ which means ‘My God, my God, why have you deserted me?'”
Today, as we begin Holy Week, we hear two gospels with very different moods. In the first, Jesus triumphantly enters Jerusalem, hailed by a large crowd. In the second, we endure the painful story of Jesus’ betrayal, arrest and crucifixion, ending in his anguished cry, “My God, my God, why have you deserted me?”
The deep pain in Jesus’ cry of abandonment can still be heard in our world today.Our common home, the earth, cries out from the harm we have inflicted on it. The gap between the richest and poorest people continues to widen. Discrimination and violence divide us.
As we begin Holy Week, we draw near to the one who loves us and suffers with us. As we approach Jesus in his passion, let’s also stand in active and loving solidarity with those who suffer today – with people who are poor, marginalised, grief-stricken and abused.
We can be confident that the Father, who was with Jesus, transforming his suffering into new life, will be with us too.
Palm Sunday prayer
Lord Jesus,
we entrust to you
all who feel abandoned.
Inspire and transform us
to stand in solidarity
with all who suffer.
Amen.
Act
As we begin Holy Week, spend some time with our Simple prayers for complicated times book, a collection of short prayers compiled in Venezuela during the pandemic.