September 23, 2009 – A Prayer for Justice for Women within the Church

Dear Family and Friends,

Please take a moment to pray with us.

Father,

Within the past month some actions have been taken by the Catholic Church in Cincinnati.  Sister Louise Akers has been calling for the ordination of women as priests.  She was told to publicly recant her views, or suffer the consequences.  Her belief has been formed over the course of many years.  She was not able to say words which contradicted her beliefs. She has been forbidden from teaching in any Catholic institution within the Archdiocese of Cincinnati.

Last week a lay woman wrote a “Letter to the Editor” of the local newspaper supporting the view of Sister Louise.  The pastor of the church where she was a volunteer teacher of religion classes for children attending public schools, told her to publicly recant her views regarding the ordination of women as priests within the Catholic Church.  She refused, and was dismissed from her position at the church.

  

A Prayer for Justice for Women within the Church

O most holy God
You know the desires of every human heart.
You see the longing of a heart
Desiring to serve You,
As well as the heart
that strives to maintain the letter of the law.
Conflict between those with power
And those without it
Is unavoidable. 
Help us discern
The will of Your Spirit.
We come to ask the intercession of Mary,
Our focus of devotion,
As the Mother of Jesus,
Chosen as a holy woman,
Fit to protect and shelter the embryonic Jesus,
To share her life’s blood and nourishment with Him,
To nurse and comfort the infant in His need.
Yet one such as this
would be denied the gift
Of recalling His Last Supper
Shared with His friends.
How could one
So intimately bound to the Saviour
Be considered second class?
Catholic women,
Hearts aflame, too,
Are denied the opportunity
To serve You in the fullest capacity
As Ministers of Your Word.
Lord send forth Your Spirit
To this world
To this Church.
Let justice rain down
Upon all Your children
May it wash away that which divides us.
May the example of Jesus
who came to breathe new life
Into the Law,
Be a model of the
Spirit’s guidance.
For this intention,
In this time.
In Jesus’ name.
Amen.

Peace,

Tom