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FROM AP: Braves 8, Twins 3
Intention: Praying with Kavanah 
Praying For Rain 
President Proclaims May 2, 2013 As National Day Of Prayer 
To Sing Is To Pray 
'Liberated For All Jewish People'
If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
Christmas is a time when we can rediscover and reconnect with the innocence that is inside each one of us and allow ourselves to become more open. When we do so, we start to see the innocence in everyone around us and we become more kind and compassionate.
Our hearts are breaking, God, as our nation buries innocent children and brave teachers. The loss is overwhelming. Send comfort and strength, God, to grieving parents, to siblings, family and friends in this time of shock and mourning.
Mike Huckabee, Bryan Fischer and Sam Morris, you certainly have the right and the freedom to advocate your positions in a manner of your choice. This time, though, reasonable people, people who are disgusted with the senseless, painful and nation-shattering violence have had enough.
In my gloom, I remembered A Letter to a Friend by Fra Giovanni. Years ago, I was so overwhelmed by its beauty I used it as a concept for a Christmas card.
Dear God, guide us to talk, act and believe that we are all one family of humanity. Dear God, help us think, speak and act peace every moment of the day.
My friend, colleague and leader in the Presbyterian Church (USA), Landon Whitsitt, is collecting sermons, prayers and other liturgical resources. He will compile it and make it available for free via e-reader download.
I need to believe, just like my grandfather did the night before his passing. Just like every other person crouched by their bedside, standing in a great hall, or sitting in a church pew needs to believe. It may be different than how my Catholic wife does it, but tonight, I will pray.
How awful that of all the things people could be blaming for this tragedy, whether it be lax gun control laws, poor mental health services or a failure of serious attention paid to troubled youth, this was where the fault fell.
You and I agree on the fact that faith can play an important role in people's lives. Where we disagree is in your assertion that to not believe in God is to put society on a path toward the kind of senseless murder we saw on Friday.
What is the answer to this madness? What can be done to stop such senseless violence? Would that the answer was as easy as gun control. How great it would be if that could change such a systemic problem.
In our grief over the tragic loss of these beautiful lives we may find solace in knowing that no evil, not even death itself can harm their immortal souls. For they are forever the precious children of our Lord.
Our tradition teaches that we "do not offer comfort when their dead lie before them." But the time is also here for a serious national conversation. We need to ask ourselves [if] we can say, as did Joseph, "I am your brother."
Why do such unspeakable tragedies take place to begin with? Hinduism, like other spiritual traditions, offers us a great deal of philosophical insight to grapple with the question.
Let us walk away from the broods of vipers -- the sin in our lives. Let us have courage and do what we know is right. In this Advent season let us live the Resurrection that the Child we wait for has invited us into.
Let us celebrate the innocence of those who will not celebrate Christmas this year because of the Connecticut shooting. Let us dedicate ourselves to making this country a safer place for our children. Let us pray to God, no matter what our religious persuasion, for peace and comfort.
Today, as we look at the faces of the 27 innocent souls who were gunned down, I hear and see calls to prayer all over the television and social media, but I wonder what it all really means. Will our prayers lead to some type of change? What are we praying for? Who are we praying to?
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