Office for Christian Unity
Thursday 15 February 2024
Meditation
Salvation is love
We will be listening to texts by Catherine and William Booth (founders of the Salvation Army) during Lent 2024.
No, there is no more delightful occupation than proclaiming, from morning till night and until midnight, the happy news that forgiveness is free. Have you heard the word grace? Have you felt its power? Can you describe the hidden, impenetrable meaning of grace?
Grace, let that name be carried on every breeze! Grace, cry it out everywhere, until there is no being who has not received forgiveness, no spirit still defiled or possessed, no soul that has not been sanctified, until there is no trace of a curse in existence, no pain that is not comforted, no tears that are not wiped away, until the world is flooded with salvation and humanity bathes in its life-giving waters.
William Booth (quoted by Corinne Gossauer-Peroz in ‘Prier 15 jours avec William et Catherine BOOTH, fondateurs de l’Armée du Salut’, Ed. Nouvelle Cité, 2008, p. 47.
Intercessions
In union with our brothers and sisters in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and with a deep desire for unity between our Churches, we turn to You, Lord, and we pray to You.
To be adapted according to your location
For the past two decades, war has been raging in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Thousands of families and children are currently displaced and living in poverty.
Lord, we entrust ourselves to your compassion to restore hope to all those who suffer because of the conflicts in this part of the country. Grant that the Congolese people may once again find peace and unity.
In Kinshasa, the Chemin Neuf Community has a mission for street children. This mission looks after boys, girls and older children who have been abandoned, rejected by their families and who live and grow up in the violence of the street.
Blessed are you, Lord, for entrusting us with your beloved children. Come today, with your grace and gentleness, to guide the steps of all the educators involved in this mission, so that each of these children may be welcomed, listened to and loved. Grant each child the grace to discover that violence is not the way of life, but that love is possible today, because you are the Father of all.
Every Saturday, the Chemin Neuf Community in Menkao provides a setting for playing, learning and teaching the village children. These meetings with the children are always moments of joy and fraternity.
Lord, please provide more human and material resources for the good of these children.