Author: stfranciskw

Today is the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. Today we pray that we may continue to seek out the truth, and find ways to reconcile with each other, so that we may live in peace.

To learn more about Truth & Reconciliation Day click here.
Check out a local event you can attend with Anishnabeg Outreach, see the post below.

THE FOURTH INDIGENOUS LEGACY GATHERING is scheduled to be held at Nathan Phillips Square in Toronto, on September 29-30, 2022. Sacred Fire, Indigenous music and dance, drumming and storytelling, workshops, artists and performers, Indigenous food vendors and artisans, will make the experience compelling.  The program is sponsored by Toronto Council Fire. A multi-faith group which has been supporting the construction of the Spirit Garden will have a tent in which faith representatives including Catholic priests, will be available. The construction of the Spirit Garden has begun and should be completed by the Fall of 2024! Learn more here.

A Prayer for those that Never Came Home

Great and Heavenly Spirit,
God of compassion, healing and comfort,
We lift up in prayer the sacred lives of the children, some now known to us, all known to you, who died in residential schools.
We lift up in prayer the sacred lives of the children who went missing from these schools and whose fates are unknown to those who held them most dear.
We grieve the loss of so many thousands of these little ones, and we grieve especially their loss so far away from home.
We grieve the loss of youth with so much potential. These were children of this place, children of our land. The loss of their giftedness is our collective loss.
We lament how long their families have had to live with unanswered questions. Hear our prayers:
for those who were not informed of their children’s deaths at all, or on a timely basis; for those who were not told of where their daughters and sons had been buried;
for those who have long hoped that a child who went missing somehow survived and had a good life—even as they may have also feared the worst.
We lament our complicity in the loss of these children. As members of a church which ran residential schools, we seek your help as we look to redress the many ways in which our church failed these Indigenous children, their families, and their communities. We pray that your reconciling love will teach us how to create true bonds of community and understanding as Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples today.
We lift up with gratitude the efforts of all those who are seeking to honour the lives of the children who died, as well as the children whose fates are unknown, through ongoing research and acts of remembrance.
We ask for your continued guidance of them as they work to uncover the stories of the lost. We understand how precious this information is, and how vital it is to the healing of so many families and communities.
Bless those who are preparing to honour the children with sacred ceremonies and those who work to protect burial sites, in keeping with the traditions of Indigenous peoples across this land.
We pray for the families of these children and for all who loved them. Envelop them in the warmth of your infinite care and give them peace.
Inspire all of us with energy, wisdom, and commitment to the loving pursuit of the truth which will heal all of us in our brokenness and lead to reconciliation with our neighbours across this land.
Amen.