The bulk of my work can be accessed via Patreon
Patreon helps me make this work sustainable.
Thanks for reading and subscribing.
You can find archived litanies here, and purchase my book here.
Attribution guidelines are here.

As Russia continues its unprovoked and evil invasion of Ukraine, we pray to the Lord for our siblings there.
This prayer is intended to be prayed aloud in congregations or gatherings of any size, with attribution.

God, we are heartbroken for our Ukrainian siblings
For all who are suffering,
For all who are displaced,
For all who are fighting,
For all who are dying,
For all who are fearful,
For all who are resolute,
For all who feel hopeless.

We are sad and sick at heart
That war has once again been waged on innocents, on anyone.
We lament and mourn this tragedy
And commit to lending our strength and love to those in the fight,
Even as we ask for all bloodshed to cease.
As Christ has shamed violence, so do we.

We ask for a quick resolution to this war and an end to this invasion.
We ask for peace and safety for all Ukrainians.
We ask for wise and bold leaders who are clever, creative, and committed to the good of all.
We ask for peace on the European continent.
We ask for, and enact with our bodies, a world where war and aggression are never an option.
We ask for true justice and peace to reign over all the earth.

Thwart the bloodthirsty and power-hungry, God (1).
Deny the greedy.
Lay waste to the plans of the wicked.
Confuse the minds of evil-doers.

Somehow, we know we must love Ukraine’s enemy with them (2).
Somehow, we must tap into the compassion of God for these invaders.
Somehow, we know we must embody the peace and forgiveness of Christ (3).
Somehow, we must not let evil win the day. Help us.

Oh God, war brings us to the very ends our ourselves -
The edges of our own humanity;
It takes us so far that we have no choice but to remember our divinity, our Imago Dei,
If we are to continue in Love at all.
Christ left his peace with us (John 14:27),
Now let humanity take hold of it.

Amen

Psalm 57:3
Matthew 5:44
John 20:22,23

I find that, occasionally, it makes sense to offer a prayer or liturgy with a simple refrain. It offers a place to mentally land for a few moments, especially in a litany dealing with heavy topics. This week, given the news, feels like one of those weeks. Also, sometimes we need to say a thing aloud a bunch of times to get it into our thick skulls :)

Sunday I preached a sermon about inner peace being an inside job and a choice that we get to make out of our free will about whether to take Christ up on the invitation into let "Peace be with you" regardless of what's happening around us.

And then we are confronted with news of more killings, more injustice, more police violence. (RIP Duante Wright, Lord have mercy.)

I even got news from my best friend that she is suddenly in hospital having emergency surgery.

Bad news is another opportunity for me to practice this lesson. To practice the Peace Within (John 20: 19) regardless of how the world, events, other people, etc are behaving or feeling.

I'm reminded of the hymn lyrics: "Thou wilt keep [them] in perfect peace / whose mind is stayed on Thee."

And I'm convinced that keeping that inner peace fire stoked, we are able to access more empathy, more compassion, and more right action. When we are not spinning our wheels in worry, anxiety, and emotional turbulence (here is the growth edge for me) we are better problem solvers and justice-doers. Today I'm even more sure that Inner Peace is an important Fulcrum of Transformation.

This is difficult spiritual work. Inner peace is not apathy. It's a radical restructuring of our way of being in the world.

We hear the voice of Christ speaking:
Peace be with you (1).
Right now these words seem impossible, mind-boggling,
Even, at times, annoying….

get the full litany