A PRAYER FOR HAITI
January 2010
Most Holy Creator God, Lord of heaven and earth,
we bring before you today your people of Haiti.
It is You who set in motion the stars and seas,
You who raised up the mountains of the Massif de la Hotte
and Pic La Selle. It is You who made her people in your very image: Their gregarious hearts and generous spirits,
their hunger and thirst for righteousness and liberty.
It is you, O Lord, who planted the rhythms of konpa, Twoubadou,
and zouk in the streets of Cite-Soleil; You who walk the paths
outside of Jacmel and Hinche. Your people, O Lord, cry out to you.
Haiti, O Haiti: The world’s oldest black republic,
the second-oldest republic in the Western world.
God, You are the One who answers the cries of the suffering.
You are a God who sees, frees, and redeems your people.
“I too have heard the moaning of my people,” you spoke to Moses.
Now, Lord, speak again to Chanté, Agwe, Nadege, and Jean Joseph.
Speak now, O Lord, and comfort Antoine, Jean-Baptiste,
Toto, and Djakout. Raise up your people from the ash heap
of destruction and give them strong hearts and hands,
shore up their minds and spirits. Help them to bear this new burden.
As for us, Lord, we who are far away from the rubble and the dust,
from the sobbing and moans, but who hold them close in our hearts,
imbue us with the strength of Simon the Cyrene.
Help us to carry the Haitian cross. Show us how to lighten
their yoke with our prayers, our aid, our resources. Teach
us to work harder for justice in our own country and dignity in Haiti,
so that we may stand with integrity when we hold our Haitian families
in our arms once again. We ask this in the name of Jezikri,
Jesus Christ. Amen.
(c) Rose Marie Berger (reprint freely)
http://www.cacradicalgrace.org/getconnected/articles/APrayerForHaiti-RoseMarieBerger.pdf
January 18, 2010 at 4:13 pm
AMEN,,
January 19, 2010 at 8:19 am
Thanks all for sharing this prayer widely. I’ve had a couple responses to it in Creole which makes me very happy.–Rose
August 4, 2021 at 2:19 am
Hello my name is Simon Mitchell Anderson from Bremerton, Washington State and I am 44 year old Catholic. God Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere and live below the poverty line whom live in shacks. God the people of Haiti have food, clean water, electricity, schools and God be the rebuilding of Haiti with Coal Power Plants, Suburb Office Buildings, Single Family Bungalows, and factories as rebuilding Haiti for fun,