Published in Save Us, Send Us, Praying with Litanies, from World Library 2013

When I served in our community of Saint Andre Bessette Church, we prayed this litany on the sidewalk after a murder in our neighborhood. At the end of this litany, I prayed that we would never have to sing this text again. In my years there, we processed and sang ten different times

Today, even though we are not together in the neighborhoods of El Paso or Dayton, we stand among those who suffer such loss and we pray this day for peace. May our prayers wash away the blood of our sisters and brothers and hatred within our nation. May we never have to pray this litany again. 

Response: SAVE US O GOD

From the brutality of murder and violence…..
From the hardship of poverty and loss…..
From the addiction of drugs and alcohol….

From the fear of isolation and hardship….
From the evil of war and hatred……….
From the corruption of sin and darkness….

From the terror of gunshots and stabbings…
From the suffering of illness and disease…..
From the coldness of loneliness and self-pity…

From the bitterness of homelessness and empty pockets…
From the need of prostitution and pornography….
From the snare of mental illness and all discrimination..

From the desperation of pride and jealousy….
From the silence of apathy and neglect….
From the wounds of sexual molestation and abuse…

From the deserts of ignorance and suffering…
From the arrogance of racism and greed…
From the burden of grief and despair…

From the torture of broken promises and empty commitments…
From the doubt of selfishness and insecurities…..
From the web of egoism and self-centeredness….
From the outrage of revenge and the death penalty…

From the seduction of materialism and gossip…
From the sin of gluttony and avarice……
From the cloud of sexism and ageism ….
From the trap of cynicism and refusal to forgive….

And from all evil….
And from all evil….
And from all evil……