Daily Prayers for December 11

In 1981 scores of Salvadoran troops from the US-trained Atlacatl Battalion occupied the town of El Mozote in rural El Salvador, interrogating its citizens about the whereabouts of guerilla troops suspected to be in the area. Though the residents of El Mozote, many of them born-again evangelicals, were known to be neutral in the conflict between the Salvadoran government and the FMLN resistance, nearly one thousand men, women, and children were systematically killed in the largest massacre of modern Latin American history.

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 “I Want -Jesus to Walk with Me”

Rouse yourself! Come and see! : Save us, God, from the enemy.

Psalm 59:1 – 5

Rescue me from my enemies, O God : protect me from those who rise up against me.

Rescue me from evildoers : and save me from those who thirst for my blood.

See how they lie in wait for my life, how the mighty gather together against me : not for any offense or fault of mine, O Lord.

Not because of any guilt of mine : they run and prepare themselves for battle.

Rouse yourself, come to my side, and see : for you, Lord God of hosts, are Israel’s God.

Rouse yourself! Come and see! : Save us, God, from the enemy.

Isaiah 6:1 – 13 Luke 22:14 – 30

Rouse yourself! Come and see! : Save us, God, from the enemy.

The inscription on a memorial in El Mozote’s town square reads, “They did not die, they are with us, with you, and with all humanity.”

Prayers for Others

Our Father

Lord, we give thanks for the faithful who have gone before us. Strengthen us by their witness of courage and help us live lives that might encourage those who long for the gift of faith. 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.