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In Memory and Hope: A Prayer Service

About this article

This prayer service will help high school students gather together in prayer to remember those who died and to seek God's mercy that future violence will not come to pass.

Materials Needed

incense
charcoal
brazier or some type of container to hold burning incense
candles

Music Suggestions

"Be Not Afraid," Bob Dufford, Gather Comprehensive (Chicago: GIA Publications, 1994), no. 608.

"Grant Us Peace, Lord," Tony Alonso, Fresh As The Morning (Chicago: GIA Publications, 2001).

"Here I Am, Lord," Dan Schutte, Gather Comprehensive (Chicago: GIA Publications, 1994), p. 686.

"Jesus, Give Us Your Peace," Michael Mahler, Give Your Gifts: The New Songs (Chicago: GIA Publications, 2001).

"Lord of All Hopefulness," Timothy R. Smith, Spirit and Song (Portland, Oregon: Oregon Catholic Press, 1999), no. 127.

"Our God Reigns," Leonard E. Smith, Spirit and Song (Portland, Oregon: Oregon Catholic Press, 1999), no. 197.

"Prayer of Saint Francis," adapted by Sebastian Temple, Gather Comprehensive (Chicago: GIA Publications, 1994), no.726.

The Summons to Prayer

Presider: Once again, a place of safety has become a place of tragedy.We gather here to seek God's comfort, seek God's mercy and pray for each person who died at the hands of senseless violence. As we seek God's face, let us seek the peace that can only come from the Holy Spirit.

Prayer

Presider: In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

All: Amen.

Opening Song (optional)

Presider: Source of all love and life, we come to you with heavy hearts as we remember those who tragically died in the tragedy. May those who died be embraced by your eternal light and joy. And may the victims’ families and friends be comforted by thoughts of a new day where your reign of peace will come in its fullness. We ask this through Christ the Lord.

All: Amen.

Psalm 55:1-9

(As the Psalm is being prayed, have a volunteer from the assembly sprinkle incense on the coals.)

Reader: Give ear to my prayer, O God;
do not hide yourself from my supplication.
Attend to me, and answer me;
I am troubled in my complaint.

All: I am distraught by the noise of the enemy,
because of the clamor of the wicked.
For they bring trouble upon me,
and in anger they cherish enmity against me.

Reader: My heart is in anguish within me,
the terrors of death have fallen upon me
Fear and trembling come upon me,
and horror overwhelms me.

All:And I say, "O that I had wings like a dove!
I would fly away and be at rest
truly, I would flee far away;
I would lodge in the wilderness;

Reader:I would hurry to find a shelter for myself
from the raging wind and tempest."
Confuse, O Lord, confound their speech;
for I see violence and strife in the city.

All: O Lord, I will trust in you.

Reader: Glory to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

All: As it was in the beginning, is now
and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Presider: Lord, just as the incense rises, our hearts rise to you. In times of trouble, we seek your comfort and your help. As we offer you our prays for the victims, their families, our nation, and the entire human family, you offer to us the gift of yourself. May we welcome you, receive you, and allow ourselves to be transformed by living in your presence.

Reader: Revelation 7:13–17

Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, "Who are these, robed in white, and where have they come from?" I said to him, "Sir, you are the one that knows." Then he said to me, "These are they who have come out of the great ordeal; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. For this reason they are before the throne of God, and worship him day and night within his temple, and the one who is seated on the throne will shelter them. They will hunger no more, and thirst no more; the sun will not strike them, nor any scorching heat;for the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of the water of life, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."

Presider: Lord, you are our refuge and our strength; all our hope lies in you.

All: Lord, you are our refuge and our strength; all our hope lies in you.

Presider: You are constantly near to love and to guide.

All: Lord, you are our refuge and our strength; all our hope lies in you.

Presider: Glory to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

All: Lord, you are our refuge and our strength; all our hope lies in you.

Presider: Source of peace, hear us now as we bring our prayers before you. Please respond: "Fill us with peace and hope."

Reader: Lord, perfect love casts out all fear. As we remember those who died, embrace them with your love and draw them into friendship with all the saints who have gone before them. We pray: