December 2020
Here are some suggested prayers for each day of Advent in December, the Month of Peace within the Order of Preachers. Each year this Dominican Month of Peace is dedicated to a given country, this year we look to Ukraine. You may freely use these prayers for your community prayer.
Particular attention will be given to one project, namely, the Saint Martin de Porres Center in Fastiv, founded in 2005. This center, in which about 25 members of the Dominican family collaborate, aims to help socially disadvantaged children and those who suffer daily from the effects of war.
| 29/11 | As we enter this season of Advent and start preparing for the coming of the Prince of Peace, we implore you, Lord, to be with the people of Ukraine and to hear their cries for peace. |
| 30/11 | Lord, we pray for the children of Ukraine, many of whose lives have been poisoned by war. May our solidarity and prayers give them a new hope for their future. |
| 1/12 | Lord, we pray for our brothers and sisters in Ukraine who are trying to emerge from a time marked by war and by a search for national autonomy. Bless them and help them to find peaceful solutions to the conflicts in their country. |
| 2/12 | Lord, we pray for the people of the various regions of Ukraine, especially those in Crimea, Donbass and the East of the country, that the situations of open or latent violence may be resolved in a way that offers true peace and freedom to the affected population. |
| 3/12 | Lord, we pray for the children in Ukraine, and elsewhere. May countries which have signed the “Declaration on Safe Schools” respect their commitment and protect the most vulnerable. We entrust to your loving care the children who are too often victims of clashes between adults. |
| 4/12 | Lord, we pray for the Dominican Family in Ukraine which has been present in the region since the 13th century and has recently been re-established after being outlawed by the communist regime. Bless the 25 friars, 18 Dominican sisters from 4 congregations and 82 lay people present in 7 cities in their pursuit of justice and peace. Inspire them to be signs of hope for the people. |
| 5/12 | Lord, bless the members of the Dominican Family in Ukraine and their collaborators who are involved in the Saint Martin de Porres Center in Fastiv, working with disadvantaged and disabled children, street children, orphans and those who suffer from the aftermath of hostilities. |
| 6/12 | Lord, we entrust to your loving care the children from the Ukranian combat zone who are hosted by the Saint Martin de Porres Center in Fastiv. May these children affected by war find hope in a just and fraternal world where they can flourish. |
| 7/12 | Lord, in countries experiencing political, social and economic upheavals, those who are already vulnerable are the first victims of these difficulties. Accompany those in a weak and precarious situation, especially in Ukraine, to obtain the necessary help and support to live in a hopeful and supportive environment. |
| 8/12 | Lord, we pray for those who work in the media in Ukraine. Give them the will to search for the truth and help them to share information which contributes to the building of your Kingdom of Justice and Peace. |
| 9/12 | Loving God, we pray for children on the margins of society, without emotional support or financial resources, that they may be helped by people or organizations concerned about their development. We pray especially for the Dominican project of St. Martin de Porres in Fastiv, Ukraine. |
| 10/12 | We pray today for women in Ukraine who are victims of violence, who have to bear a heavy burden to support their families, for those who are pregnant and for those who are widowed: Lord, help them to find financial support, shelters and places to be listened to so that they do not sink into despair. |
| 11/12 | Lord, call responsible people to be trained to combat sexual violence against children: help them to create bonds of solidarity in their communities, to ensure the protection of the most vulnerable. |
| 12/12 | Lord, we pray for community organizations, in Ukraine and elsewhere, working with children on a daily basis. Inspire them to improve the quality of life of the children by offering them recreation and accompaniment to support their growth. |
| 13/12 | Lord, we pray for those who, in many national and international organizations, are working to free children and their families from poverty and exploitation at work. Nourish their dedication and support the work of all those who have this concern at heart. |
| 14/12 | Lord, we pray for young adults seeking to rebuild their lives after a difficult childhood: lead them to welcoming spaces where their wounds can be healed, and they can happily integrate into society. |
| 15/12 | Lord, we pray for the families in Ukraine who are experiencing food insecurity or struggling with health and access to medical care: Gather them around a meal that gives them strength and health; give them community support and resources to prevent sickness and to obtain the medication necessary for a return to health. |
| 16/12 | Lord, we pray for the leaders of the Churches in Ukraine. Help them to foster unity among the people and to be inspiring witnesses of your Gospel. |
| 17/12 | Lord, Fount of Wisdom, we pray for the teachers in Ukraine. Help them to transmit seeds of hope, peace and justice. |
| 18/12 | Lord, we pray for all those who are unjustly imprisoned in Ukraine and elsewhere. We beseech you to come and deliver them with your outstretched arm. |
| 19/12 | Lord, we entrust to your care the one and a half million people who have had to flee their homes due to war in Ukraine and have lost their roots: the farmers who lost their land, migrants, all those whose rights are not recognized and who are often exposed to danger in their work. Come and accompany them so that they may be surrounded by people who care about their well-being, and that they may grow new roots. |
| 20/12 | Lord, we pray for those who have judicial responsibilities in Ukraine. Give them determination in the face of corruption and help to serve justice and reconciliation. |
| 21/12 | Lord of creation, we pray for the artists and those responsible for culture in Ukraine. May their work, inspired by the example of Fra Angelico, contribute to healing wounds, building bridges between communities, and revealing the splendor of your eternal shining light. |
| 22/12 | Lord, King of the Nations, inspire the people of Ukraine and all countries to establish a culture of human rights which can effectively combat all forms of discrimination and combat poverty. |
| 23/12 | Lord, our King and lawgiver, we pray for those who have political responsibilities in Ukraine. Inspire their work, so that they may be concerned by the common good and preserved from corruption. |
| 24/12 | Lord, you have chosen shepherds to be the first to receive the astonishing news of your closeness to humankind so that all might receive life in abundance. Help us to bring this Good News to the poor today! |
| 25/12 | Christmas is Good News and a great joy for all! Today, a savior is given to us! To you, God and Father, who has come to reconcile all things through your Son, we implore: May Peace be on earth and Thy kingdom come! |
| 26/12 | Lord, do not hold this sin against them. Bless the people in Ukraine and Russia who adopt the transformative power of forgiveness and reconciliation as a form of resistance to violence. May this love beyond hatred transform those hearts which remain of stone. |
| 27/12 | Lord Jesus Christ, may your light illuminate the darkest places on earth, and today we especially think of those in Ukraine. Make us witnesses of your light that has come into this world, through words of comfort, solidarity, attention to situations of poverty and injustice. |
| 28/12 | Lord Jesus Christ, protect the innocent and help us to discover behind cold statistics real brothers and sisters, with a life and a history, and today we especially think of Ukraine. Transform our prayer and solidarity for innocent victims into buoys of hope. |
| 29/12 | In Ukraine, the recent conflicts have claimed the lives of more than 13,000 people, including 3,345 civilians, and the number of wounded is estimated at 30,000. Lord, be a font of hope for those countries such as Ukraine that are trying to recover from the devastation caused by war and social conflict. Accompany them in the establishment of a more just society where concern for the common good and the marginalized has a central place. |
| 30/12 | Creator God, we pray for all those who still bear the consequences of the nuclear accident in Chernobyl, Ukraine, in 1986, especially the victims of toxic water supply and air pollution. Help us to take better care of the creation you entrusted to us. |
| 31/12 | Lord, as 2020 and our Month for Peace in Ukraine draw to an end, may the days of war, hatred and injustice be numbered so that we can finally welcome You, the One we are waiting for who will reconcile humanity, gathered in a single love. |
| 1/1 | Together with the whole Church praying for peace in the world, we implore you, O Prince of Peace, to send your Spirit to break down all the walls of division and conflict in Ukraine and, indeed, in every country, so that your reign of justice and peace may blossom in our world. |
