Prayers for the Children

We are horrified. Two hundred and fifteen children, buried in a mass grave, with no marker, no recognition, and most with no notice to family.

This is wrong on so many levels that the mind reels.

I am under no illusion that these prayers will somehow make this better. Or give us understanding of what happened. Or bring healing and reconciliation.

We are not there yet, and won’t be for a long time.

But this is a necessary first step.

In the church, it’s called confession. It is admitting that we are not what we ought to be. We are not even what we want to be.

We start here. With that hard truth about ourselves.

And we embrace the fact that this will be a long journey, one which we dare not refuse.

We have, in the past, attempted to refuse this journey.

But we can clearly see the result of this refusal, friends: a mass grave with two hundred and fifteen children.

Let’s take this step together. Pray. Confess. Weep.

And let’s commit to taking the next step together, too.

As Pope Francis says, “That’s how prayer works.”

Peace.