Daily Prayers for April 7

On April 7, 1994, a civil war broke out in Rwanda as Hutu extremists began brutally killing Tutsis and moderate Hutus. Over the next one hundred days, nearly a million -people were killed in the worst occurrence of genocide since the Holocaust. An estimated 75 percent of the Tutsis living in Rwanda were murdered.

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”

Give us water from the Rock, O Lord : and sustain us in the struggle for justice.

Psalm 35:1, 24 28

Fight those who fight me, O Lord : attack those who are attacking me.

Give me justice, O Lord my God, according to your righteous-ness : do not let them triumph over me.

Do not let them say in their hearts, “Aha! just what we want!” : Do not let them say, “We have swallowed him up.”

Let all who rejoice at my ruin be ashamed and disgraced : let those who boast against me be clothed with dismay and shame.

Let those who favor my cause sing out with joy and be glad : let them say always, “Great is the Lord, who desires the prosperity of his servant.”

And my tongue shall be talking of your righteous-ness : and of your praise all the day long.

Give us water from the Rock, O Lord : and sustain us in the struggle for justice.

Exodus 17:1 – 16 1 John 3:19 – 4:6

Give us water from the Rock, O Lord : and sustain us in the struggle for justice.

When Cardinal Roger Etchegary visited Rwanda on behalf of the pope in 1994, he asked the assembled church leaders, “Are you saying that the blood of tribalism is deeper than the waters of baptism?” One leader answered, “Yes, it is.”

Prayers for Others

Our Father

Lord God, King of the Universe, we lift up our hands to you and ask you to help us bear the burden of injustice. Grant us a discerning spirit to follow your path to justice. Equip us with your patience and your grace so that as we walk with those who suffer, we might strengthen and uphold one another. 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.

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