A joint statement from the Archbishops of Canterbury and York on the current violence in Israel and Gaza
“We are grieved and deeply concerned at the violence in Israel and Gaza, and we unequivocally condemn the attacks by Hamas. We pray for those who are mourning, those who are injured, and all those fearing for their safety. We pray for restraint on all sides, and renewed efforts towards a just peace for all. The way forward must be for both sides to build confidence in a secure future through which Israel and its people can live in security within its internationally recognised borders, and Palestinians have their own state and live in their lands in security, and with peace and justice.”
“The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral, begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy. Instead of diminishing evil, it multiplies it. Through violence you may murder the liar, but you cannot murder the lie, nor establish the truth. Through violence you murder the hater, but you do not murder hate. In fact, violence merely increases hate…Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”
Martin Luther King
Prayers for peace
For those caught up in tragedy and disaster
O Lord our God,
source of all goodness and love,
accept the fervent prayers of your people;
in the multitude of your mercies look with compassion
upon all who turn to you for help;
for you are gracious, O lover of souls,
and to you we give glory, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
now and for ever.
Amen.
At a time of despair
Restless with grief and fear,
the abandoned turn to you:
in every hour of trial,
good Lord, deliver us,
O God most holy, God most strong,
whose wisdom is the cross of Christ.
Amen.
For innocent victims of war
Loving God,
The guns and rockets, drones and bombs are endless.
The pictures of destruction and death keep washing over us in the news
Wrap all and each of these your people in your love. Speak to their hearts: “Come to me you who suffer and are burdened and I will give you rest.”
The Palestinians and Israel are engaged in a seeming endless struggle while the world watches silently.
Wrap all and each of these your people in your love. Speak to their hearts: “Come to me you who suffer and are burdened and I will give you rest.”
In countless parts of our world today, the air is tense with waiting, uncertainty, insecurity. From ravaged lands, destroyed by war, Your peoples lift their hands to You, pleading. We pray for an end to the violence, for justice, and for peace to come and to last.
Wrap all and each of these your people in your love. Speak to their hearts: “Come to me you who suffer and are burdened and I will give you rest.”
We pray for an end to violence, war, and senseless death.
Grant us this, peaceful God. Grant us a peaceful world.
Amen.
Excerpt James E. Hug, SJ