Daily Prayers for March 21

Under apartheid law, black South African men over the age of sixteen were required to carry a pass card. Anyone found without a card by the police could be arrested. On March 21, 1960, black South African men had planned to leave their pass cards at home, go to the police station, and ask to be arrested in an act of civil disobedience. When the men began their walk to the police station, officers opened fire, killing sixty-nine and injuring hundreds in what has been remembered as the Sharpeville Massacre.

O Lord, let my soul rise up to meet you

as the day rises to meet the sun.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,

as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.

Come, let us bow down and bend the knee : let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.

Song “We Shall Overcome”

Lord, help us to resist : the madness of our age.

Psalm 106:47 – 48

Save us, O Lord our God, and gather us from among the nations : that we may give thanks to your holy name and glory in your praise.

Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting and to everlasting : and let all the -people say, “Amen!” Hallelujah!

Lord, help us to resist : the madness of our age.

Exodus 7:25 – 8:19 Mark 8:11 – 26

Lord, help us to resist : the madness of our age.

Desert father Abba Anthony said, “A time is coming when men will go mad, and when they see someone who is not mad, they will attack him saying, ‘You are mad, you are not like us.’ ”

Prayers for Others

Our Father

Lord, we remember those who have given their lives for the sake of justice and freedom. Help us not to take our own freedom lightly, but to use it to advocate relentlessly for the freedom of others. Amen.

May the peace of the Lord Christ go with you : wherever he may send you;

may he guide you through the wilderness : protect you through the storm;

may he bring you home rejoicing : at the wonders he has shown you;

may he bring you home rejoicing : once again into our doors.