SHANNON CRAIGO-SNELL

God of Grace, bless those who vote in local elections. Grant them wisdom and perseverance. May their number increase. Amen.

Everlasting God, I pray tonight for Kathrine Switzer. In 1967, she was the first woman to officially enter and run the Boston Marathon. Today, she ran it again (for the ninth time), 50 years later. Bless her with continued health and strength, with joyful companionship, with celebrations to suit her accomplishments, and with ongoing delight in her sport. Bless the rest of us, God, with some portion of her courage in resisting discrimination and her stamina in continuing to r

God of Glory, please bless those who celebrate resurrection. Our celebrations affirm that even when all hope is gone and all possibility past, You are still able to bring life out of death and light out of darkness. May we exercise the muscles of our resurrection-hope by living in concrete expectation of Your mercy and justice. Amen.

God of Compassion, I pray for those whose lives demonstrate that great strength lies not in the power to harm but in the power to heal, not in coercion but in compassion, not in fear but in faith. Amen.

Merciful God, I pray for each person aghast at the suffering in the world. When we are perplexed and near despair, send us Your Spirit to guide us towards justice and compassion. Amen.

Ever-present God, I am thinking tonight of therapists, chaplains, and counselors. People who accompany others through the valley of the shadow of death, in whatever form it comes. They witness the harms done by injustice, illness, and evil. Their witness is a form of truthfulness; their accompaniment a form of faithfulness. Give them solace and comfort, strength and fortitude. Bless them with experiences of beauty and wonder. Amen.

Holy God, for those who observe Passover, I pray. Remembering--instead of allowing history to be rewritten at the whim of political powers--is resistance. I give thanks for the Jewish witness to liberation from captivity. May Your chosen people flourish. Amen.

Gracious God, thank You for Catholic Workers, whose lived commitment to peace and justice is an ongoing testimony to Your intent for the world. They bear witness to the possibility of loving our neighbors as ourselves. Pour out Your mercy upon them. Grant them health, wellness, restoration, and wholeness. Encourage them with holy gifts of joy and laughter. Surprise them, God, with abundance at every turn. Make the way smooth before them as they travel faithfully towards the v

Creator God, bless those who use the power of 21st century communication technologies for good. We are in the midst of a crash-course on the harms that can be done online. But we also see the positive uses of our electronic connectivity. Protestors who organize events via texts. Justice-seekers who live-stream instances of discrimination to foster accountability. A biblical scholar with mad tweeting skills. And the creative souls who make memes and gifs that tell the truth,

Holy God, bless those who love. Theologian Karl Rahner points out that loving another human being--really loving them, not just seeing them as a reflection of oneself or a means to an end--is too risky to be wise. People are flawed and finite. Often, they let us down. Always, they die. Either way it hurts. In purely human calculations, love is a bad bet. Rahner says that every time we choose to love another person, it is a leap of faith. Explicitly or implicitly, one who love