A PRAYER for VICTIMS of DISASTERS and AGAINST CALAMITIES

(Adapted from the prayer composed by His Grace the Archbishop Oscar V. Cruz and His Excellency Bishop Lucilo Quiambao.)

In solidarity with the families of flood victims and casualties in Cagayan de Oro and Iligan Cities, Simbahang Lingkod ng Bayan is inviting the whole country to join us in prayer for healing and recovery from this calamity.

Dear Father, our loving and merciful God,

In faith, we acknowledge your abiding paternal care over us, your children.
In hope, we trust in your divine providence of giving us wisdom,courage, and fortitude  as we face the challenges in life.
In love, we invoke your help and guidance during these difficult days of death and destruction in various parts of our beloved country.

Ours is a solemn prayer of thanksgiving for Your wise reminder that we live in an imperfect and passing world, that heaven is not on earth. Ours, too, is a sincere prayer of repentance for earnestly seeking you only when we are in need and desperate but conveniently forgetting you when we are comfortable and prosperous; when we allow Your beautiful creation, our environment, to suffer our wrongdoing, our abuse and indifference.

And ours is also a prayer of humble petition as we plead:

Grant eternal peace to those who lost their lives. Embrace the children who died in their innocence. Help those who are hurt and cure those who are sick. Encourage those who suffer in the destruction of their homes and properties, so that despite the difficulty at hand they may once again stand up and rebuild their future.  Bless all those who extend their helping hands to those in need of food, shelter and clothing, who share their time, talents and resources with others. Inspire more people to be men and women for their neighbors, convinced that the more they are for others, the closer they journey with Your Son. We implore that we, our loved ones and our hard earned possessions, be spared from the threat of calamities, natural and man-made. Save us please from other disasters and devastations if this would be according to Your will and for our own spiritual good.

Amen.