NOTE: We invite all members of the Pax Christi USA family to light a candle, place it in a window tonight (June 26), and offer up the prayer below written by Pax Christi USA Teacher of Peace Dianna Ortiz, OSU in observance of the UN International Day of Support for Survivors of Torture. Join thousands around the country in remembering torture survivors in this simple act of prayer.
The prayer is available here as a prayer card to share with your group, in your parish, at your school and with others to advocate for an end to the use of torture once and for all.
Find our PSA (Prayer-Study-Act) resource for the abolition of torture at this link.
Jesus, Our Tortured Brother Today
by Dianna Ortiz, OSU
Pax Christi USA Teacher of Peace
Jesus, our Tortured Brother,
In this world, so many are forced to walk your path today –
the suffering and pain, the humiliation,
the sense of betrayal and abandonment –
for those with power, the Romans of today,
continue to condemn others to modern crosses.
You said that what was done to the least of these was done to you,
and so each day, You are tortured anew.
Jesus, our Guardian of the Wounded and Tortured,
Bid us to look into the secret prisons–the unmarked graves–
the hearts and minds of the torture survivors.
Bid us to wipe the tears of the families of those whose
decapitated bodies were cast into the open sea.
Bid us to embrace the open wounds of the tortured.
Jesus, Guiding Spirit,
Teach us to be in solidarity with those who hang from these crosses.
Call out to those who torture:
“Know the evil you have done and repent.”
Call out to the rest of us:
“What meaning does love have
if you allow torture to continue unopposed?”
In the name of all the tortured of the world, give us the strength,
give us the courage, give us the will to bring this horror to an end,
in the name of love, justice, and the God of us all. Amen.