The hopes of the community
A prayer by a community of people in Colombia, many of whom are displaced, sharing their hopes for their community.
This prayer from Peru is spoken in five indigenous languages - Asháninka, Kichwa, Awajún, Shipibo, Matsigenka. It reminds us that the Lord is always with us, wherever we are.
Lord, you are always with us.
You know us; you know who I am.
Lord, you protect and accompany me.
From dawn until the sun sets.
In joy and in sorrow.
In laughter and in tears.
You are always with me.
You don't abandon us.
Lord, you look at me lovingly.
I see you too.
I see you in thousands of faces.
When you can't get up,
when you are hungry and cold,
when you can't breathe,
and also when they can't understand you,
when they don't want to see you.
In an ambulance going at high speed,
or in the far reaches of the Cordillera mountains,
I see you Lord.
I feel you, you are with me.
Listen to my words.
Listen to my heart, Lord.
The heart of your people,
the heart of your soil.
Feel, it is alive.
We are alive.
A prayer by a community of people in Colombia, many of whom are displaced, sharing their hopes for their community.
A prayer by Fr Ignatius Ikunza, late director of the Hakimani Jesuit Centre in Kenya.
A prayer said by fisherman James in Liberia before heading out to sea.
A prayer from Sierra Leone seeking unity among nations, ethnic groups and religions.