A Special Litany of Penitence for Christians Brokenhearted over Gun Violence, Immigration, and Political Division
On Sunday, August 11th, we made space during our quarterly prayer service to join together in a special litany of penitence that made space to name the evils of racism, white supremacy, hatred, and violence that are running rampant in our nation, to grieve and lament over the brokenness of our world, to repent of our complicity through action and inaction, and to confess again that the crucified and risen Jesus is the only true hope in our world.
We have decided to make this litany available for any who would like to use it as a personal or corporate resource for prayer. Please note that this litany uses some couplets originally used in worship at The Mission Chattanooga in Chattanooga TN with much original content created by the staff of The Mission Cincinnati.
A SPECIAL LITANY OF PENETENCE | Prayer Service 8.11.2019
Leader: Lord, rightly seeing and adoring You for who You are frees our hearts and minds to clearly see ourselves. And standing before your beauty and majesty, power and holiness, love and perfection, our own fallenness is ever more apparent. Almighty God, unto whom all hearts are open and all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hidden, cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your holy name. Let us move now into a time of confession.
Call to Holiness & Confession of Sin
Leader: Who is it that you seek?
All: We seek the Lord our God.
Leader: Do you seek him with all your heart?
All: Amen. Lord, have mercy.
Leader: Do you seek him with all your soul?
All: Amen. Lord, have mercy.
Leader: Do you seek him with all your mind?
All: Amen. Lord, have mercy.
Leader: Do you seek him with all your strength?
All: Amen. Lord, have mercy.
Leader: Do you seek to love your neighbor as yourself?
All: Amen. Christ, have mercy.
Leader: Let us enter into a time of silence as we invite the Holy Spirit to search our hearts.
Silence 1 – 2 minutes (allow the Holy Spirit to search your heart)
Leader: Dear friends in Christ, here in the presence of the Almighty with penitent and obedient hearts we confess our sins, so that we may obtain forgiveness by his infinite goodness and mercy. Let us observe another space of silence as we bring our sins, our brokenness, and our need into Christ’s presence, laying our burdens at the cross, and asking Him to meet us where we are…
Silence 1 – 2 minutes (bring your sins to the cross of Christ…invite Him to meet you where you are…)
SONG OF CONFESSION/THANKFULNESS can be played if desired
Litany of Penitence
The Celebrant and People together, all kneeling
All: Most holy and merciful Father: We confess to you and to one another, and to the whole communion of saints in heaven and on earth, that we have sinned by our own fault in thought, word, and deed; by what we have done, and by what we have left undone.
Leader 1: We have not loved you with our whole heart, and mind, and strength. We have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We have not forgiven others, as we have been forgiven.
All: Have mercy on us, Lord.
(some silence may be kept after each petition)
Leader 2: We have been deaf to your call to serve, as Christ served us. We have not been true to the mind of Christ. We have grieved your Holy Spirit.
All: Have mercy on us, Lord
Leader 1: We confess the times when we, Your people have been silent in the face of injustices that injure minorities, the disempowered, the refugees, and the less fortunate in our nation. We confess the times when we have ignored your Word and have been slow to name and stand against evils of racism, white supremacy, and hatred in our nation.
All: Have mercy on us, Lord
Leader 2: We bring to you our feelings of fear, numbness, grief, and anger over the tragedies of gun violence and the separation of families at the U.S. –Mexican border that continue to wound and divide our nation. We confess our desire to act in a way that would establish peace, and dignify all people as image bearers of God.
All: We confess to you, Lord
Leader 1: We confess our doubt and confusion over how best to make change. We confess our great need for your wisdom Jesus, your courage, and your love to help us understand and work with those we disagree with, to find a faithful way forward that reveals the Kingdom and heart of God in our nation.
All: We confess to You, Lord.
Leader 2: We confess the times we have forgotten to care for the lonely, minister to the poor, foster mental health, and help those suffering from mental illness. We confess the times we have labeled people in our lives or our nation as hopeless, too far gone, and beyond help.
All: We confess to You, Lord
Leader 1: We confess our compassion fatigue, and our cynicism toward media, activism, and even prayer.
All: We confess to You, Lord
Leader 2: We confess the times we have made enemies out of those we disagree with politically or theologically. We have often failed to see the image of God in them and we have failed to love them as Christ first loved us.
All: Have mercy on us, Lord.
Leader 1: We confess the times we have looked to partisan politics for salvation. We pray for forgiveness for the times we have forgotten that the crucified and resurrected Jesus is still the only true hope for our broken world and our broken hearts.
All: We confess to you, Lord.
Leader 2: Accept our repentance, Lord, for the wrongs we have done: for our blindness to human need and suffering, and our indifference to injustice and cruelty,
All: Accept our repentance, Lord.
Leader 1: For all false judgments, for uncharitable thoughts toward our neighbors, and for our prejudice and contempt toward those who differ from us,
All: Accept our repentance, Lord.
Leader 2: Restore us, good Lord, and let your anger depart from us;
All: Favorably hear us, for your mercy is great.
Leader 1: Accomplish in and through us the work of your salvation,
All: That we may show forth your glory and transforming love in the world.
Leader 2: By the cross and passion of your Son our Lord,
All: Bring us with all your saints to the joy of his resurrection.
Leader 1: We will now observe a space of silence for you to make your private, silent
confessions and lamentations to the Lord.
(Silence is observed…1-2 minutes)
Kyrie (can be sung or spoken in unison)
All: Lord have mercy,
Christ have mercy
Lord have mercy upon us.
THANKSGIVING
Leader 1: (priestly) Amen, and hear then the good news: all who are in Christ Jesus are a
new creation. The old is gone and the new has come. By the power of Christ’s shed blood on the cross, I proclaim that you are forgiven ones and Your sins have been removed from you as far as the east is from the west.