An Interfaith Prayer for an End to Torture

Friends,

Last Thursday evening in cooperation with the the Ursuline Sisters and a number of other groups, we cohosted the presentation of a film documentary about torture and its impact on individual lives. The film was followed by a discussion and a brief interfaith spiritual service.

For the Service I composed an interfaith prayer for an end to torture. I thought I would share it with you. Here it is:


AN INTERFAITH PRAYER FOR AN END TO TORTURE


IN THE SPIRIT OF THE CHRISTIANS, who see that the Kingdom of God is literally among us, let us strive to open the eyes of those who torture so that they can see that their actions undercut God’s Kingdom.

Amen

IN THE SPIRIT OF THE BUDDHISTS who understand so well that the true meaning of the word “compassion,” is to “suffer with,” we ask God to help us all find our ways to bear the scars of those who have been tortured.

Amen

IN THE SPIRIT OF THE HINDUS, who know that God’s face is manifested in many different forms, we implore the Divine to enable us to see the face of God in the tortured and the torturer alike.

Amen

IN THE SPIRIT OF THE JEWS, who have great passion for justice, we invoke the name of God in bringing the darkness of torture to light wherever it exists.

Amen

IN THE SPIRIT OF THE BAHA’IS who believe that all persons throughout the world are connected by the love of God, we ask the Holy One to help us realize that connection by upholding the dignity of all humans through opposition to torture anywhere on our Earth.

Amen

IN THE SPIRIT OF MUSLIMS, the name of whose religion means submission to the will of God, we submit our will to the Divine who calls upon us to do all that we can to stop the use of torture by representatives of our own Government.

Amen

And in the spirit of the Quakers who speak to the fact that there is the Light of God in everyone, let us now carry into the evening the light of candles, each one representing a country in which the conflagration of torture remains to be snuffed out, in the hope that we can turn this symbolic action into reality in the days, weeks and months to come.

Amen