Prayers of the Faithful
CMN's sample prayers of the faithful center around the work to end the death penalty and build a more restorative criminal justice system. Perfect for Respect Life Month or any time of the year, these prayers amplify the Catholic call to advocate for all life.
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"God of Mercy" Prayer Card
Download CMN's "God of Mercy" Prayer Card, which serves to remind us of the unconditional opportunity for redemption that, as God's children, we all share. Pray it alone or with others in community, asking God to "sustain our pursuit of reconciling justice, that we may model Christ's compassion and mercy with our lives."
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Prayers for Executions
CMN invites you to use the following prayers in to lift up the sacred dignity of those at risk of execution this Respect Life Month, their victims, and all who have been impacted by the death penalty in the U.S.
Prayer for Life
By Bishop Daniel Flores
God Eternal Father,
You are the Living God.
Life is who you are,
Life is what you love,
Life is what you breathe.
Creation was made to house life; life is what you give.
Human life is your most beloved,
And what You most affirmed when you sent your Eternal Son
To take flesh,
To die our death,
And to rise again glorious.
Help us to be a people of life –
A church that can do no other
Than love what you so mightily love,
And defend what your Son so willingly died and rose to defend.
Amen.
Prayer for Mercy
By Catholic Mobilizing Network Staff
God of mercy,
We gather to pray for an end to the many acts of violence occurring in our society.
We pray in a special way for all those impacted by the use of the death penalty.
Guide us with your love and compassion, O God,
As we strive to be vessels of your mercy
And live in a manner that lifts up the dignity of all life.
Help us to live the path of discipleship and faith
as we work to end the death penalty and promote a more restorative justice system.
Amen.
Prayer for Healing
By Sr. Helen Prejean, CSJ
God of compassion,
You let your rain fall on the just and unjust.
Expand and deepen our hearts so that we may love as you love, even those among us who have caused the greatest pain by taking life.
For there is in our land a great cry for vengeance,
As we fill up death rows and kill the killers in the name of justice, in the name of peace.
Jesus, our brother, you suffered execution at the hands of the state,
But you did not let hatred overcome you.
Help us to reach out to victims of violence so that our enduring love may help them heal.
Holy Spirit of God, You strengthen us in the struggle for justice.
Help us to work tirelessly for the abolition of state -sanctioned death and to renew our society in its very heart so that violence will be no more.
Amen.
Prayer for Abolition
By Catholic Mobilizing Network Staff
Jesus, you were counted among thieves,
and you were the victim of capital punishment.
Yet you came to set free those who are imprisoned.
Heal the souls of those who, in their pain, inflict suffering on others.
Help us to see ourselves in the face of the criminal.
Forgive us our sins, as we forgive the sins of those who have trespassed against us.
Give us the power not to punish but to heal,
not to seek retribution but to work for restoration and the reign of your peace.
Holy Spirit, of God, you strengthen us in the struggle for justice.
Help us to work tirelessly for the abolition of state sanctioned death
and to renew our society in its very heart so that violence will be no more.
Amen.
Prayer for Strength
By Catholic Mobilizing Network Staff
And so we go forward now, knowing that the violence stops with us.
Bless us, O Compassionate One, and give us strength for the journey.
Fill us with that amazing grace which breaks down walls of hatred and fear,
And allows Your love and mercy to enter in,
That the process of healing and reconciliation might begin.
In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Amen.