PRAYER:

 

I pray for a forgiving heart, for the grace to be like Christ who prayed for his executioners and for those crucified with him. And I pray for our country — that as a society, we may turn from the path of violence and vengeance — and work for the renewal and rehabilitation of all persons.

 

God of compassion,
You let your rain fall on the just and the unjust.
Expand and deepen our hearts
so that we may love as you love,
even those among us who have caused the greatest pain
by taking life.

For there is in our land a great cry for vengeance
as we fill up death row and kill the killers
in the name of justice, in the name of peace.

 

Jesus, our brother,
You suffered execution at the hands of the state
but you did not let hatred overcome you.

Help us to reach out to victims of violence
so that our enduring love may help them heal.
Holy Spirit of God,

You strengthen us in the struggle for justice.
Help us to work tirelessly
for the abolition of state-sanctioned death
and to renew our society in its very heart
so that violence will be no more.

Amen.

 

— Helen Prejean in Praying Our Lives: A Woman's Treasure of Catholic Prayers by Eleanor Bernstein

Source: Spirituality and Practice: Resources for Spiritual Journeys

 

 

RESOURCES:

 

The Catholic Mobilizing Network invites us to watch “The Pope’s Prayer Video – For the abolition of the death penalty.” Learn more about the death penalty and how you can advocate of its abolition and pledge to pray with Pope Francis.

 

In this short video, the Texas Defender Service answers the question, “What do you wish more people knew about the death penalty?”

 

The Visiting Room Project enables men in Louisiana to share their stories and their experiences of serving a life sentence. In previous decades, a life sentence really meant serving about 15 years in prison. Listen to these men recount the reality of living out the rest of their lives in prison.

 

For more information about organizations dedicated to the abolition of the death penalty, click here.

 

ACTION:

 

TAKE ACTION: Tell Congress to Abolish the Federal Death Penalty

After a 17-year hiatus, the U.S. Department of Justice carried out thirteen executions between July 15, 2020 and January 15, 2021- an unprecedented pace. These made President Trump the most-executing president since the 1950's. Death Penalty Action invites us to sign a petition telling Congress to end the Federal and military death penalty.  TAKE ACTION