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Prayer & Action for Peace in Pakistan, Middle East, and Korea by Jim McGinnis, inspired by his new book
Jim
(especially the week of August 15, Liberation Day for both North and South Korea) by Jim McGinnis, inspired by his new book
The situation. In 1945 Korea was divided into South and North Korea following an agreement between the US and the USSR. Five years later the Korean War broke out and lasted for three years. The war resulted in over 273,000 killed and more than 450,000 wounded. According to the report of the Unification Ministry, about 7,670,000 people in South Korea have experienced the separation of their family since the war. Today, while the economic situation for people in the South continues to improve, thousands of children in the North continue to face starvation. And the struggle for peace in the Korean Peninsula is further challenged by North Korea’s repressive government and its isolation from most of the global community.
Prayer for peace in KoreaO Lord, you have created us in Your own image and likeness. Help us to give the same love and compassion to each other that you give to us. Strengthen our love for one another so that South and North Korea can be reunited, as you have made us one in love and heritage. O Lord, who desires us to dwell in peace, may peace be restored on the Korean peninsula. Forgive us who have blamed and fought against each other for we are one people who share one blood. Please heal the wounds from our division, and grant us the grace of reconciliation. O Lord, who desires the unity of all people, relieve our pains of separation with which we have lived. Help us to recognize our deep and long indifference to each other, as we strive for unity of the Korean people, and to share all we have with one another. Help us to respect and love one another that we may approach reunification with peace and generosity. Give us faith, Lord, to believe in you, and let the Kingdom of God reign in this land. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Maria, Mother of Peace, pray for us. All Martyr Saints of Korea, pray for us.
(from “Prayer for the Reconciliation and
Unity of Korean People” by Korean Reconciliation Committee (KRC) of the
Korean Catholic Diocese, reprinted with permission of KRC) Action. Prayerfully support the efforts of the Korean Council for Reconciliation and Cooperation (http://www.kcrc.or.kr) and the Korean Sharing Movement (http://www.ksm.or.kr/), two of the organizations in South Korea that provide North Korea with food and financial support and promote mutual understanding; also People Creating Circles of Peace and Justice, an organization of Korean Christians, including Fr. Taejin Kim and Wooyeong Joo who contributed to this page, helping families and small community live nonviolently and make a difference in society.
Prayer of petition. God of peace, help us embrace all Korean people with our love and compassion. We pray for the families who cannot see some of their family living on the other side. They have long missed their family members, eagerly waiting for the day of reunification between the two Koreas. We also pray for those who still have hatred and anger against the other party. Please help them forgive people on the other side and consider them as brother and sister Koreans like us. We pray for children in North Korea who are starving to death due to lack of food. Help us to rise above political motivations to ensure uninterrupted support for all the people of the Koreas, especially the children. (by Woo Yeong Joo)
Thanks for caring, Jim |