Prayer in Time of Violence

I have to admit, God,
that sometimes it’s hard
to even call your name.

On days like this
I can’t help but think
that if you had been there,
we wouldn’t be here—

—here in a world where
so much violence
has changed everything

—here where such bloodshed
fills today’s news
even as many more die
each day, unnoticed and alone.

But here is where we need you,
and here is where we cry to you.
Be here with us, Lord, be here.

Let us be angry for what has been done,
but don’t let us be consumed by it
that we no longer recognize ourselves
as your creation.

Give peace to the children.
Unbind them from the bonds of grief and fear
that they may become again
children of joy, of love, of trust, and hope.

And not today, Lord, but in time,
if there’s at all any room in our hearts to forgive,
then so let it be,
for we all need to be created again.

Be here with us, Lord, be here,
right where we are, as broken as we are.
Be here with us, Lord, be here.
Amen.

—Diana Macalintal