Extracts from the Bible
“But this is a people robbed and plundered, All of them are snared in holes, And they are hidden in prison houses; They are prey, and no one delivers; For plunder, and no one says ‘Restore!. ~ Isaiah 42:22 ~” | “Do not degrade your daughter by making her a prostitute, or the land will turn to prostitution and be filled with wickedness. ~ Leviticus 19:29 ~” | “They cast lots for my people and traded boys for prostitutes; they sold girls for wine that they might drink. ~ Joel 3:3 ~” |
“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? ~ Isaiah 58:6 ~” | “So if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed. ~ John 8:36 ~” | “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. ~ John 10:10 ~” |
“Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings.” ~ Psalm 17:8 ~ | “All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.” ~ Matthew 11:27 ~ | Scripture Reading: Psalm 72:4-5, 12-14 May he defend the afflicted among the people and save the children of the needy; may he crush the oppressor. May he endure as long as the sun, as long as the moon, through all generations. For he will deliver the needy who cry out, the afflicted who have no one to help. He will take pity on the weak and the needy and save the needy from death. He will rescue them from oppression and violence, for precious is their blood in his sight |
“Scripture Reading: Micah 6:6-8 With what shall I come before the LORD and bow down before the exalted God? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of olive oil? Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. | “Scripture Reading: John 3:19-21 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God. | Scripture Reading: Amos 5:21-24 “I hate, I despise your religious festivals; your assemblies are a stench to me. Even though you bring me burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them. Though you bring choice fellowship offerings, I will have no regard for them. Away with the noise of your songs! I will not listen to the music of your harps. But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream! |
“Why, O LORD, do you stand far off? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble? In his arrogance the wicked man hunts down the weak, who are caught in the schemes he devises. He boasts of the cravings of his heart; he blesses the greedy and reviles the LORD. In his pride the wicked does not seek Him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God. His ways are always prosperous; he is haughty and your laws are far from him; he sneers at all his enemies. He says to himself, “Nothing will shake me; I’ll always be happy and never have trouble.” His mouth is full of curses and lies and threats; trouble and evil are under his tongue. He lies in wait near the villages; from ambush he murders the innocent, watching in secret for his victims. He lies in wait like a lion in cover; he lies in wait to catch the helpless; he catches the helpless and drags them off in his net. His victims are crushed, they collapse; they fall under his strength.He says to himself, “God has forgotten; he covers his face and never sees.” Arise, LORD! Lift up your hand, O God. Do not forget the helpless. Why does the wicked man revile God? Why does he say to himself, “He won’t call me to account”? But you, O God, do see trouble and grief; you consider it to take it in hand. The victim commits himself to you; you are the helper of the fatherless. Break the arm of the wicked and evil man; call him to account for his wickedness that would not be found out. The Lord is King for ever and ever; the nations will perish from his land. You hear, O LORD, the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry, defending the fatherless and the oppressed, in order that man, who is of the earth, may terrify no more. ~ Psalm 10 ~” | “The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion — to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. ~ Isaiah 61:1-3 ~” | “You hear, O LORD, the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry, defending the fatherless and the oppressed, in order that man, who is of the earth, may terrify no more. —Psalm 10:17, 18” |
Considering the Traffickers and Exploiters – Psalm 10
***
Psalm 69 – a Translation from the Perspective of a Woman Trafficked into Forced Prostitution (by Eva-Sibylle Vogel-Mfato)
Save me, o God, for the waters have come up to my neck.
My feet can no longer touch bottom in the deep mire where I am sinking.
I have screamed my heart out, my throat is so hoarse, I have waited so long for my God that I hardly dare hope any longer.
More in number than the hairs of my head are those who hate me without any cause.
Those who are unjustly against me, and want to ruin me completely have me totally in their power.
I am supposed to pay back money I do not even owe.
God, you know how innocent and naive I was; that I am partly to blame for my situation is no secret from you.
Do not let those who wait and hope for your help be troubled because of me. Let those who seek you, o God of my people, not face scandal and shame because of me.
For your sake I bear my disgrace and my face betrays my shame.
I have become a stranger to my own sisters and brothers.
If they knew how I earn my living here, they would refuse to know me any longer.
It was, it is, longing for the life in all its fullness which you have promised to all the world, which has brought me low.
The insults of those who scorn your name have fallen on my head. Weeping bitterly, I fast while they make fun of me.
If I were to seek justice in a court they would pull me to pieces, and my tormentors would sing drunken songs about me.
My prayer rises up to you, O Lord.
Let the time come for me to receive mercy.
In your great love, answer me, with your faithful help, rescue me.
Reach down, pull me out of the mire before it closes over my head.
Snatch me away from those who are destroying me, save me from the floods rushing over me, do not let the deep waters drown me or the Pit swallow me up.
Answer me, God, for it is so comforting to be embraced by your kindness and motherly love.
Do not hide your face from your daughter.
I am so afraid!
Answer me quickly, come into my life with your help, redeem my life, buy me back, because of my enemies.
You know how I am insulted and shamed, you know who they are, my tormenters. Shame has broken my heart and brought me to despair.
I long for someone who sees me and cares about my pain but no one is there.
I long for someone to take me in her arms and comfort me but I cannot find anyone.
They put drugs in my food, and when I am overcome with thirst, all I get is a bitter drink, which numbs me but does not quench my thirst.
Let their own table full of food make them sick and be a trap for them.
Let their eyes be struck blind, so they can no longer gape at me, and let their loins be impotent forever! Pour out upon them your punishing anger and let your burning indignation overtake them.
Let their houses be laid waste, so no one can live there.
For they persecute those whom you have already punished enough and they make fun of the pain of those who are already deeply wounded.
Add guilt to their guilt and do not let them have any place in your justice.
Let them be blotted out of the book of life; let them not be included among the righteous.
I am in misery, my whole body aches. Help me, o God, and protect me.
I will praise the name of God with a song;
I will magnify God with thanksgiving.
My sisters with whom I share this slavery see me, and sing their gladness; those who looked to God for counsel and help, find new courage in their hearts.
For God hears the voice of the poor and needy, God identifies with those in bondage, and does not despise her own.
Let heaven and earth praise God, the seas, and everything that moves in them.
For our country is precious to God, she will help us, and will build the cities again, so that her people may live in them, and make their living with what they have there.
And this our descendants will inherit, and those who love God will be able to live there in peace.
Psalm 69_Interpretation by Eva Sibylle Vogel-Mfato
***
Invocations Prayers in English by Sr. Milka Zečević-Tadić from Croatia
Invocations Prayers in English by Sr. Milka Zečević-Tadić_Croatia
***
Prayer Cards in Polish by Sr. Joanna Lipowska FMM
***