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A Prayer for Haiti by Rose Marie Berger

haiticathedral

Port-au-Prince Cathedral before and after last night’s earthquake (Photo-Wiki/Screengrab-@Maddow).

A Prayer for Haiti (January 2010) by Rose Marie Berger
Most Holy Creator God, Lord of heaven and earth,
we bring before you today your people of Haiti.
It is you who set in motion the stars and seas, you who
raised up the mountains of the Massif de la Hotte and Pic La Selle.
It is you who made her people in your very image:
Their gregarious hearts, generous spirits,
their hunger and thirst for righteousness and liberty.
It is you, O Lord, who planted the rhythms of konpa, Twoubadou,
and zouk in the streets of Cite-Soleil. You who walk the paths
outside of Jacmel and Hinche. Your people, O Lord, cry out to you.

Haiti, O Haiti: the world’s oldest black republic,
the second-oldest republic in the Western world.
You are a God who answers the cries of the suffering.
You are a God who sees, frees, and redeems your people.
“I too have heard the moaning of my people,” you spoke to Moses. Now, Lord, speak to Chanté, Agwe, Nadege, and Jean Joseph.
Speak now, O Lord, and comfort Antoine, Jean-Baptiste,
Toto, and Djakout. Raise up your people from the ash heap
of destruction and give them strong hearts and hands,
shore up their minds and spirits. Help them to bear this new burden.

As for us, Lord, we who are far away from the rubble and the dust, the sobbing and the moans, but who hold them close in our hearts, imbue us with the strength of Simon the Cyrene.
Help us to carry the Haitian cross; show us how to lighten the yoke with our prayers, our aid, our resources. Teach us to work harder
for justice in our own country and dignity in Haiti,
so that we may stand with integrity when we hold our Haitian families in our arms once again. We ask this in the name of Jezikri, Jesus Christ. Amen.

(c) Rose Marie Berger (Reprint freely. Downloadable version here.)

Please support the people of Haiti who have suffered a devastating earthquake with your prayers and donations. We owe them a debt of gratitude. I recommend Catholic Relief Services and the Mennonite Central Committee, both of whom have a long history in Haiti.

12 comments

  3. May the rich and beautiful culture of Haiti and the Haitian habit of solidarity sustain and strengthen in the midst of such suffering. Yes, help us to carry the Haitian cross – we who are so far away, yet aching. Thank you, Rose.

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  5. Thank you so much for your prayer for the people of Haiti. Your talent is a blessing from God. May God send all the help they need.
    Love and Peace, Debra and family

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  7. Thanks for everyone who has responded about the prayer. Please use it widely as we continue to hold the people of Haiti in our arms and send our resources however we are able.

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  12. Thank you Marie, for this powerful prayer for Haiti I plan to share it with other Intercessors we have all been praying and will continue. For we know that, ” The LORD thy God in the midst of thee (Haiti) is mighty; he will save , he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing,” Zephaniah 3: 17.

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