A Spirit of Inspiration

Our Executive Director Sister Mary Scullion was invited to offer a prayer at the 2015 National Prayer Breakfast, Thursday, February 5.  The Prayer Breakfast is an annual gathering of elected officials and political leaders in Washington, DC, as well some other national and international leaders, for a time of spiritual reflection and fellowship. President and Mr. Obama will be in attendance.  The gathering attracts a crowd of a few thousand invited guests.  (This year’s other guests included the Dalai Lama.)
 

Pres. Obama quotes S. Mary

Watch the full program

Here is the text of Sister Mary's prayer:

God of compassion, God of justice,

We humbly come before you this day with gratitude and a clear understanding that it is in You that we all find our common home.  For when we are rooted in Your truth and Your grace we are empowered to pray:  “Thy Kingdom Come.”

As we lift this special prayer to You today we recall how through the ages You have been a God of compassion, justice, and liberation, with a special love for the poor and oppressed.  We remember your servant Moses leading your people out of oppression and bondage.  We recall Jesus healing the sick, bringing sight to the blind, and proclaiming Good News to the poor. 

We recall those times in own nation’s history, when moved by the promise of liberty and justice and empowered by your Spirit, courageous leaders worked to end slavery, to enfranchise women, to welcome immigrants, to break down barriers and expand economic opportunity for all.

Your constant revelation, God, is one of nonviolent liberation from anything that oppresses the human spirit.

As we gather here, millions of your beloved children are suffering under the burden of poverty, oppression, and violence.  Our prayers today can only be authentic if they compel us to act.

Let us hear the cry of the loving parents struggling to provide for their children.

Let us hear the cry of all those around our world impacted by violence and those in our Nation who suffer the wounds of gun violence.

Let us hear the cry of the millions of children, whose magnificent gifts and possibilities are lost in under resourced schools and economically plundered neighborhoods, condemning them to a life of persistent poverty.

Let us hear the cry of our veterans suffering from the wounds of war especially those who are homeless.

Open our eyes so we can see that their suffering is a prophetic sign that cries out for radical transformation. 

God, we know that our faith does not give us answers; it gives us courage.  As people of faith, we pray for the courage to live truthfully, compassionately and justly.   Help us to see through our hypocrisy and falsehoods.  Empower us to stand squarely on the side of the poor and those who are struggling on the margins of our society.  

Help us to move beyond our ideological polarizations and economic disparities.  Form us into a united community committed to affirming each person’s dignity and gifts, and working toward a common good of shared prosperity.  Let us build a society free from the scourge of poverty, a society that truly reflects Your Kingdom.

Most of all, let us understand that your ancient call for compassion and justice is in truth an invitation to all of us to a fullness of life and a richness of human community.  As we meet the needs of those in poverty, we are healing ourselves and our nation.  As we ensure that all families have enough to eat, we are building the banquet table for everyone.   As we work to provide healthcare and quality education to all, we are making our whole society healthier and wiser.   As we bring those living on our streets home, we are finding our own way home because none of us are home until all of us are home. 

Fill us with the same Spirit of liberation that filled Jesus and the prophets before and after Him.  Fill us with the same Spirit of joy and hope that inspired the call of the prophet Isaiah in his powerful challenge: “If you spend yourselves on behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday.” 

God of compassion, God of justice, fill us with this yearning, and give us the strength, grace and courage to make it real each day.  Thy Kingdom come!
Amen.