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Prayer
To End The Use Of The Death Penalty
Merciful Father, we ask your
blessing on all we do to build a culture of life. Hear our
prayers for those impacted by the death penalty.
We pray for all people, that their lives and dignity as
children of a loving God may be respected and protected in
all stages and circumstances.
We pray for victims of violence and their families, that
they may experience our love and support and find comfort in
your compassion and in the promise of eternal life.
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Prisoner's Prayer to St. Maximilian Kolbe
Prisoner-Saint of Auschwitz, help me in my plight
Introduce me to Mary, the Immaculata,
Mother of God. She prayed for Jesus in
a Jerusalem jail. She prayed for you
in a Nazi prison camp. Ask her to comfort
me in my confinement. May she teach me
always to be good.
If I am lonely, may she say "God is here."
If I feel hate, may she say "God is love."
If I am tempted, may she say "God is pure."
If I sin, may she say "God is mercy."
If I am in darkness, may she say "God is light."
If I am unjustly condemned, may she say "God is truth."
If I have pain in soul or body, may she say "God is peace."
If I lose hope, may she say: "God is with you all days, and
so am I."
Amen
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Prayer
for Inmates and Correction Officers
Most gracious Father, bless with your special care all jails,
penitentiaries and homes of refuge.
Look with pity on those who are housed there. Guide and
protect those who have returned to the world. Grant all of
them true contrition for past sins, and strengthen them in
their good resolutions.
Lead them along from grace to grace so that by the help of
the Holy Spirit they may persevere in the ways of obedience
and humility, and in the struggle against evil thoughts and
desires.
Grant the Holy Spirit to those engaged in teaching and
training them, that they might have a right judgment with
respect to those entrusted to them. May they labor for love
of your with deep humility and singleness of purpose, purity
of heart and life, and true zeal for your glory and the
salvation of souls.
Give them faith and love to sustain them in disappointment,
love and patience toward those under them, and in your own
good time crown their work with an eternal recompense.
Amen.
- Prayer For Those Who Work in
Prisons
Those who are busy and weighed down with responsibility,
stop, stand in the light and find strength and rest. For all
who work in prisons, and care for those who are imprisoned,
it is very easy to get sucked down into the suffering and
needs of others, to be so committed to ensuring that others
have the tools they need to change and turn their lives
around that they forget their own needs. In times of stress
and pressure, of financial constraint and shortage of
resources, prison staff want to make a difference but need
to remember to take care of themselves, of one another and
to offer support and affirmation.
Lord, you said ‘come to me all who labour and are heavy
laden’, you said ‘cast your burdens on me and I will give
you rest’, give to all who work in prisons and carry the
needs and burdens of others, the grace, strength and courage
to continue, and the rest they need for renewal and
recreation. In Jesus’ name.
Amen.
- Prayer of Pope Pius Xii for
Prisoners
O Divine Prisoner of the sanctuary, Who for love of us and
for our salvation not only enclosed Yourself within the
narrow confines of human nature and then hid Yourself under
the veils of the Sacramental Species, but also continually
live in the tabernacle! Hear our prayer which rises to You
from within these walls and which longs to express to You
our affection, our sorrow, and the great need we have of You
in our tribulations, above all, in the loss of freedom which
so distresses us.
For some of us, there is probably a voice in the depths of
conscience which says we are not guilty; that only a tragic
judicial error has led us to this prison. In this case, we
will draw comfort from remembering that You, the most August
of all victims, were also condemned despite Your innocence.
Or perhaps, instead, we must lower our eyes to conceal our
blush of shame, and beat our breast. But, even so, we also
have the remedy of throwing ourselves into Your arms,
certain that You understand all errors, forgive all sins,
and generously restore Your grace to him who turns to You in
repentance.
And finally, there are those among us who have succumbed to
sin so often through the course of our earthly lives that
even the best among men mistrust us, and we ourselves hardly
know how to set out on the new road of regeneration. But
despite all this, in the most hidden corner of our soul a
voice of trust and comfort whispers Your words, promising us
the help of Your light and Your grace if we want to return
to what is good.
May we, 0 Lord, never forget that the day of trial is an
opportune time for purifying the spirit, practicing the
highest virtues, and acquiring the greatest merits. Let not
our afflicted hearts be affected by that disgust which dries
up everything, or by that distrust which leaves no room for
brotherly sentiments and which prepared the road for bad
counsel. May we always remember that, in depriving us of the
freedom of our bodies, no one has been able to deprive us of
freedom of the soul, which during the long hours of our
solitude can rise to You to know You better and love You
more each day.
Grant, 0 Divine Saviour, help and resignation to the dear
ones who mourn our absence. Grant peace and quiet to this
world which has rejected us but which we love and to which
we promise our co-operation as good citizens for the future.
Grant that our sorrows may be a salutary example to many
souls and that they may thus be protected against the
dangers of following our path. But above all, grant us the
grace of believing firmly in You, of filially hoping in You,
and of loving You: Who, with the Father and the Holy Spirit,
live and reign forever and ever.
Amen.
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