Prayer to End the Death Penalty Introduction: We lend support to “Catholic Mobilizing Network” in their work to end the death penalty by our prayer, by signing petitions when invited by Death Penalty Action and by our financial contribution. Krisanne Vaillancourt Murphy, their Executive Director, who visited Victory Noll in March, met with Pope Leo on June 17 and presented him a framed drawing from a man on Ohio’s death row with 28 names of men who have scheduled executio

Immigrants and Refugees Introduction: Last Sunday, September 27, was World Day of Prayer for Immigrants and Refugees. Today we continue that prayer, for their needs and for a just and compassionate response to their presence among us. Song: The Feast Meant for Everyone by Tom Booth & Sarah Hart https://youtu.be/mdLW3d2a0NY?si=D3xXqtUkhgZ3G1Ql Bread for the immigrant, bread for the poor Bread for the hungry who beg at our door, Food for the outcast waiting to belong; C

Care of Creation Introduction: Each year Christians worldwide unite in prayer and action to protect the environment during the Season of Creation, September 1, marked as the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, until October 4, the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, the patron Saint of ecology. Song: Sacred Creation by Rufino Zaragoza, https://youtu.be/Kmjhvp68zIs?si=Rljg8lgc_qhKlK50 (Refrain) Sacred the land, sacred the water, sacred the sky, holy and true. Sacred

Prayer for Peace and an End to Violence Introduction: Next Monday, September 21st is World Peace Day. Let us call to mind our corporate commitment to prayer, study and action towards the elimination of all weapons of mass destruction and the resolution of conflict through diplomatic and peaceful negotiations. We do this on behalf of human rights, justice and peace. Pope Paul VI’s message on the occasion of the 5th World Peace Day included the following statement: “If you w

Introduction: As we begin our weekly “Prayer for the World” again today, these words from Sr. Nancy Sylvester, IHM describe both a wish and a suggestion for this moment: I hope you had a restful summer as we are entering a frenzied time of mid-term elections. With so much news—real and fake—and all the political ads—some AI generated, it feels as if we all have to remember to slow down and to take some time to quiet ourselves and really listen to Divine Love within us. S

Magnificent Humanity Introduction The Church proclaims that human life is sacred and that the dignity of the human person is the foundation of a moral vision for society. On May 15th, marking the 135th anniversary of Rerum novarum, Pope Leo XIV released his first encyclical, entitled ‘Magnifica Humanitas/Magnificent Humanity: On Safeguarding the Human Person in the Time of Artificial Intelligence.’ Artificial intelligence (AI) is the development of computer systems capable

We Shall Overcome Some Day Introduction The religious heritage generated by the slaves flowed down through succeeding generation. Pressing to establish civic and legal equality for black people and thereby to end a century of violent post-Civil War segregation, the civil rights movement drew in powerful measure on this legacy, precent now in black churches. … Martin Luther King’s speeches and writings were rich with prophetic visions of a world where all God’s children will

EARTH DAY - April 22, 2026 Caring for Earth and All of Creation Introduction Each year Earth Day is celebrated on April 22! Perhaps it is important to remember that we are called to be mindful that every day is Earth Day. The theme of Earth Day 2026 is “Energizing Our Faith”! Each day we are called to make a conscious effort to care for and to recognize the sacredness of Earth and all of creation. Song - Sacred Creation – Rufino Zaragoza, https://youtu.be/Kmjhvp68zIs?si=

Easter Hope Introduction During the Easter Season we are awakened to the reality of the Risen Christ in our midst. Our challenge today, as it was for the disciples over 2000 years ago, is to recognize him in every human being. Secondly, we are challenged to love one another as he has loved u s. Song: Enflame Our Hearts by Monica Brown, https://youtu.be/iSri3Y2nzdU?si=reQm6eH5kHrDkhA_ Enflame our hearts, O God of love, May we be your light of love. Enflame our hearts, O God

RESURRECTION Introduction Our Reading today is taken from an article by Sr. Nancy Sylvester, IHM entitled, “The Stubborn Hope of Resurrection.” In the introductory paragraph she tells how when their college, Marygrove, was closed, it’s fate was unknown. But with vision, hard work, good luck and the stubborn belief in, as the CEO told her, “good bones,” it has undertaken a new birth. The close-to-100-year-old structure that was “destroyed” or torn down and had been the do

Contemplation and Transformation of the Heart Introduction In contemplative prayer, we quiet our minds with the intention to BE open to God who is Love, who transforms us. As we enter into holy week on Palm Sunday, let us be guided by this quote from Rev. Thomas Keating: God, out of his infinite mercy, made himself equal to us in the incarnation by identifying with the human condition. God makes us equal to him by transforming us into his own unconditional love. Song: Brea

Human Trafficking Yesterday, we celebrated Saint Patrick’s Day. As with many today, Patrick was a victim of human trafficking. May today’s victims find a way out of slavery and find a way to bring Christ’s light into the world as did Saint Patrick. Song: Christ Before Me · Keith Duke Sacred Dance ℗ 2005 Kevin Mayhew Records https://youtu.be/7dZwCdulOpc?si=fJJPmdy_H7BCyZb3 Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ above me, Christ below me. Christ to left and Christ

Call to Conversion, to Compassion Introduction Despite the global consensus against the death penalty, with over 70% of nations abolishing it either in law or practice, the United States is a stark outlier. It remains the only developed country in the Western Hemisphere that continues to execute its own citizens, perpetuating a profoundly flawed notion of ‘justice.” And so we pray for the end of the death penalty, especially in our own country. May we love as our God of

Peace be with you all! 100 Days of Prayer Our prayer today is part of a joint effort of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious called “100 Days of Prayer, Fasting and Advocacy.” It started on Ash Wednesday and ends on the Feast of Corpus Christi. Every Congregation is asked to choose a day during that period that they commit to pray, fast and advocate in response to the situation of our Country and our World. Song: Peace be not anxious by Lori True https://youtu.be

Black History Month Introduction February is the month that was declared Black History Month in 1976 by President Gerald Ford. For 50 years we’ve had the opportunity to honor the too often neglected accomplishments of Black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history. Song: For All the World –by Jan Novotka https://youtu.be/G1hxGL-0-FE?si=p6SsgnRVDvEwDbwo For all the world we gather here! For all the world we come, We gather now as one, one in love. Loo

Light in our Darkness Introduction Ash Wednesday is the beginning of Lent, a time of lengthening days, when each day we experience increasing light in the midst of darkness. Today as ashes are placed on our foreheads in the shape of a cross, we are reminded of our humanness, its limitations as well as its promise in Jesus. Let us pray for one another as we enter this Lenten journey, an opportunity for spiritual renewal leading to the celebration of New Life and Jesus’ Re

Heal Our World Introduction Violence – in all its vicious forms we have experienced and that has been inflicted upon us - is one of the hardest realities we have to live with, to forgive, and to somehow absorb. We only need to look at our own contemporary histories to find this violence in endless experiences: wars, occupations, random mass killings, school shootings, hating others and seeking to exterminate their enemies whom they see as different from them, slow starvat

Celebrating St. Josephine Bakhita of Sudan, patroness of human trafficking survivors Introduction : Bakhita was born in southern Sudan in 1869. As a young girl, she was kidnapped and sold into slavery. Sold and resold in the markets of El Obeid and Karthoum, she was treated brutally by her captors. In 1883, she was bought by an Italian diplomat who sent her to Italy to work as a maid for the daughter of a friend studying with the Canossian Daughters of Charity. It was ther

Choosing Nonviolence as Gospel Witness Introduction We pray in earnest today that there will be a resolution to the violence and injustice that is occurring across our country especially in Minneapolis. And we pray for ourselves, that we may each experience a greater peace in our own hearts. Song: Lord, I Want to Be a Chrisitan by Lori True https://youtu.be/dGC5juqHH7Y?si=jxv9JkDOTcp6eZ6C In my heart, in my heart, Lord, I want to be a Christian in my heart. Lord, I want t

There is One Body and One Spirit Introduction Every year, Christians around the world come together to observe the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. During this week, which runs from January 18 through January 25, they celebrate the truth that “What unites us is much greater than what divides us” (Pope John Paul II, Ut Unum Sint, 20) The theme this year comes from St Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians: “There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hop