Prayer to End Gun Violence

 

Novena Against Gun Violence

by Michele Bisaillon, DHS

Loving God, You created for us a world of beauty, order and endless possibilities. But today ours is a world often in chaos: war, famine, drought, so many “isms”, lack of respect for life and for one another. In this country we face these issues day after day. One of these is uppermost in our minds these days—the horror of gun violence which continues to ravage our nation, our society, our people, even the youngest of our children.

 

Spirit God, we give you all names: Holy, Sanctifier, Paraclete, Advocate. Yet you are so much more: Challenger, Nudger, Whirling Wind and Engulfing Fire, Mover, Enabler, Lover, Breath of Life.

 

Be that for us, we pray.

Instill in us your gifts of wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, reverence and awe. Pentecost us. Enable us to be as daring as the newly inspired apostles—to be bold in our defense of the right of all persons to feel safe wherever we are, unafraid of being forever silenced by those who are armed with weapons and anger and sometimes even hatred.

Give us the courage to speak the Word. Give us the audacity to take the actions needed to end this needless violence.

In the name of our Creator God, in the name of the Word of Life and in the name of the Fire of Love. AMEN.

Friday, June 2 is National Gun Violence Awareness Day in the United States and kicks off Wear Orange weekend, a time to honor survivors of gun violence and recommit to our advocacy to end the public health crisis of gun violence in this country. Orange is the color for gun violence awareness as it is also the color worn to communicate to hunters in the woods that one is not a target for their weapon. 

 As part of the Nuns Against Gun Violence collaborative, congregations of women religious are organizing vigils and prayer services across the country on June 2. Join the Mercy Sister’s vigil Friday, June 2 at 7:30pm ET by registering for the Zoom here. Please bring a candle or light to share and wear orange..

 We will gather to lift up a wave of light and prayer that will slowly spread across the country as darkness falls. We gather to pray together for the courage to work for change, for an end to the violence, and for lasting peace and justice in our communities. 

In addition to our communal and individual prayer, we invite you to work towards an end to gun violence by engaging in any of these actions:

•  Check listings here for local Wear Orange events. 
• If you have a light in your home, communal building, or workplace, consider lighting it up orange in June, June 2–4 specifically. Take a photo of your light and share it with Nuns Against Gun Violence.
• Place a candle or light in your window at sunset on June 2 and keep it lit for an hour, holding vigil with those who are praying across the country. Take a photo of your light and share it with Nuns Against Gun Violence. 
• Commit to calling Senate Majority Leader Schumer, 202-224-6542, and House Speaker McCarthy, 202-225-2915, every day until they call for a vote on an Assault Weapons Ban to end easy access to deadly weapons of war. 
• Determine if your members of Congress have co-sponsored the Assault Weapons Ban and Ethan’s Law for safe storage. If not, call them and demand that they become co-sponsors to stop the loss of so many lives to gun violence. Find co-sponsorship information at these links from the Newtown Action Alliance: 118th Congress Senate Holdouts AWB and 118th House Holdouts AWB. 

Nuns Against Gun Violence

Catholic sisters across the United States are at the forefront in many ministries, schools, institutions, and organizations that have been deeply impacted by high rates of gun violence. The Nuns Against Gun Violence coalition was recently formed by dozens of women’s religious congregations, including the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas, who have discerned that now is the moment to step forward as one, to speak boldly in opposition to this country’s epidemic of gun violence. We gather, in the light of the gospel and in defense of the sacred dignity of the human person, to demand courageous and prophetic action from our communities, our legislators and policymakers, and our church leadership, to bring an immediate end to gun violence in this country.

 

Contact information and where to send your photos:

Email: nunsagainstgunviolence@gmail.com

Instagram: @nunsagainstgunviolence

Twitter: @nunsagainstgunv

 

 Let There Be Peace On Earth

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klgg0LUvDNQ