A PRAYER SERVICE FOR A COMPASSIONATE HEART
OPENING PRAYER: As we face the ugly realities of clergy sexual abuse in the church we love, we come before you, O God, with all our fears, anger, and shame. May the anguished cries of the victims/survivors break open our hearts so that this very pain creates in us a more compassionate heart. Give us the wisdom and energy to respond to this horrific abuse of power with humility, doing the truth with justice and love and tender mercy.
SONG: HOSEA (Acc #215/ CPC2 #341 – Weston Priory)
Come back me with all your heart. Don’t let fear keep us apart.
Trees do bend, though straight and tall; so must we to others call.
LONG HAVE I WAITED FOR YOUR COMING HOME TO ME
AND LIVING DEEPLY OUR NEW LIFE.
The wilderness will lead you to your heart where I will speak.
Integrity and justice with tenderness you shall know
LONG HAVE I WAITED FOR YOUR COMING HOME TO ME
AND LIVING DEEPLY OUR NEW LIFE.
You shall sleep secure with peace; faithfulness will be your joy.
LONG HAVE I WAITED FOR YOUR COMING HOME TO ME
AND LIVING DEEPLY OUR NEW LIFE.
PSALM 142 (A psalm for survivors) –
I pour out my complaint before the Lord;
before him I tell my trouble
When my spirit grows faint within me,
it is you who know my way.
In the path where I walk
men have hidden a snare for me.
Look to my right and see;
no one is concerned for me.
I have no refuge;
no one cares for my life.
I cry to you, O Lord;
I say, “You are my refuge,
my portion in the land of the living.”
Listen to my cry,
for I am in desperate need;
rescue me from those who pursue me,
for they are too strong for me.
Set me free from my prison,
that I may praise your name.
PSALM 32 (A psalm for perpetrators)
When I kept silent,
my bones wasted away
through my groaning all day long.
For day and night
your hand was heavy upon me;
my strength was sapped
as in the heat of summer.
Then I acknowledged my sin to you
And did not cover up my iniquity.
I said, “I will confess
my transgressions to the Lord”
And you forgave
the guilt of my sin.
THINK, PRAY AND SHARE:
How has the sexual abuse by clergy
*affected you?
*affected the abused?
*affected the church?
A long period of time should be set aside for this section, including both personal, quiet reflection and shared reflections on each of the questions.
SCRIPTURE – Ezechial 36: 26-28:
I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.
PRAYERS OF THE FAITHFUL: Aware of the abuse of power, what do we ask of God?
Response: FORGIVE OUR TRESPASSES, O GOD.
For those who have used their pastoral roles to sexually abuse children we pray…
For bishops who have placed the welfare of the institutional church above the welfare of God’s people, we pray…
For Catholics who are weary, disgusted and angry, we pray….
For those of us who have lived in denial, missing the telltale signs of abuse in our midst, we pray…
For exploited children and vulnerable adults, give us the wisdom, courage and compassion so badly needed, we pray….
For creating structures and systems of abuse which made this sexual abuse both possible and permissible, we pray….
For this dark moment that it will give way to the light, we pray….
SONG: “Be Not Afraid” (Acc #55/CPC2 #424 by Bob Dufford, SJ
You shall cross the barren desert, but you shall not die of thirst.
You shall wander far in safety though you do not know the way.
You shall speak your words in foreign lands and all will understand.
You shall see the face of God and live.
Be not afraid. I go before you always.
Come follow me, and I will give you rest.
If you pass through raging waters in the sea, you shall not drown.
If you walk amid the burning flames, you shall not be harmed.
If you stand before the pow’r of hell and death is at your side,
Know that I am with you through it all.
Be not afraid. I go before you always.
Come follow me, and I will give you rest.
Blessed are your poor, for the kingdom shall be theirs.
Blest are you that weep and mourn, for one day you shall laugh.
And if wicked tongues insult and hate you all because of me,
Blessed, blessed are you!
Be not afraid. I go before you always.
Come follow me, and I will give you rest.
RITUAL OF BLESSING: We are going to celebrate a ritual of gratitude, blessing each other for the courage to be here today and to begin a process of healing. Turning to the person next to you, either on your left or your right, make the sign of the cross either on their forehead or on both of their hands and pray the following blessing:
Thank you for choosing to be here today. May God bless us in this moment and in the time to come.
FINAL BLESSING – As we go forth today, may our thoughts, our feelings, our prayers, our blessings, and the strength and fellowship of our community give us a new, more compassionate heart; so that we can live the words of St. Paul: “He has committed us to the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us.” (from 2 Cor.5: 19-20).
