Spirituality & Practice

More Americans now die of suicide than in car accidents and from 1999 to 2010 the suicide rate among those ages 35 to 64 rose by nearly 30 percent. The most pronounced increases were seen among men in their 50s, a group in which suicide rated jumped by nearly 50%. According to an article in The New York Times, explanations for this increase are financial stress and the availability of drugs which can be deadly in large doses. Many of the suicides are members of the Baby Boom generation who have been disappointed with how their lives have turned out given all the high expectations for them. Many have additional stress because they are caring for aging parents and still providing support to adult children.

And so we pray this news . . .

A powerful documentary in the PBS series "Independent Lens" titled The Undocumented, directed by Marco Williams, focuses on efforts to identify the 200 Mexicans each year who die while making the crossing through the Arizona desert into America in search of work to provide for their families. Victims of heat stroke and the lack of food, water, and medical care, they pay the highest price for the dream of a better life.

And so we pray this news . . .

We are reading more and more articles about people creating their own religions by taking what they find of value from different wisdom traditions. It has been reported that almost half of all Americans under 30 believe that the best religion is one that borrows from different religions. Many spiritual teachers, deeply rooted in their own tradition, have crossed borders and paved the way to this auspicious moment of openness, hospitality, and genuine respect for all. We are grateful to these pioneers of the multifaith movement. 

And so we pray this news . . .

In an article in The New York Times, Lincoln Brower and Homero Aridjis note the winter monarch colonies near Mexico City have shrunk considerably. Between 1993 and 2003, they covered an average of 22 acres; this year's area hit a record low of 2.3 acres. Like the loss of bees, the decline of the monarch butterflies has many causes, including the destruction of breeding habitats in the United States from toxic herbicides and genetically engineered crops and illegal logging in Mexico's fir forests. Other factors are ecotourism, extreme weather, and diversion of water. What this means is that the very future of these beauties of the sky is in danger.

An so we pray this news . . .

In an article in The New York Times, Gardiner Harris reveals that 28 million children between the ages of 6 and 14 are working in mines, factories, construction sites, shops, and farms in India. This is happening despite laws banning child labor and unsafe working conditions. As a result many kids are getting sick and even dying.

These pictures testify to the suffering.

And so we pray this news . . .

The continuing recession in the United States has been especially hard on Baby Boomers, those in their 50s and 60s raised with high hopes of a happy and fulfilling retirement filled with travel and the pleasures of a life of leisure. Instead the Labor Department's latest report on jobs identifies this age cohort as the greatest victims of the economic down swing.

And so we pray this news . . .

The disgusting gang rape on a bus in India of a woman student, who later died of her injuries, has set off a firestorm of protest against gender violence. Nicholas Kristof cites other shocking incidents and notes that women worldwide ages 15 through 44 are more likely to die or be maimed because of male violence than because of cancer, malaria, war, and traffic accidents combined. The World Health Organization has found that domestic and sexual violence affects 30 to 60 percent of women in most countries.

We protest this violence, and we also counter it with prayerful respect and affirmations of the fundamental worth and potential of all women everywhere.

And so we pray this news . . .

Global warming, notes this article by Jon Queally on CommonDreams.org, is making the world hot and dry and also cold and wet. It snowed last week in Jerusalem. China is enduring its coldest winter in nearly 30 years. Brazil is in the grip of a heat spell. There have been bush fires in Australia and floods in Pakistan and the United Kingdom. "Such events are increasing in intensity as well as frequency," said Omar Baddour of the World Meteorological Organization in Geneva.

And so we pray this news . . .

December 14, 2012. A heavily armed young man opened fire at a Connecticut elementary school, killing 26 people, including 20 children in the second deadliest mass shooting at a U.S. school in history. Immediately, police, parents, and others rushed to the scene joining the teachers and school officials comforting the remaining children. We are reminded of the good people who respond in times of tragedy, even risking their own lives. They, along with the victims, are in our prayers. This poem by Rumi says it for us.

And so we pray this news...

A new study in the journal Science reports that some of the largest and oldest trees of the world are dying. There are many causes and among them are the selfish and short-sighted habits of human beings.  

And so we pray this news...

The December holidays mean that millions of people all over the world will head out to malls, department stores, and shops to purchase gifts. In the United States, the shopping frenzy started on "Black Friday," the day after Thanksgiving, followed by "Small Business Saturday" for those choosing to buy only from independent businesses, and "Cyber Monday" for shopping online.

And so we pray this news...

Today's news is troubling. Bombs are falling in Gaza and Israel. People are still suffering from the onslaught of Hurricane Sandy. Yet once again in the United States, we are asked to open our hearts and give thanks on the national holiday of Thanksgiving.

And so we pray this news. . .

And so we pray this news. . .

The World Bank and several United Nations agencies have reported that world hunger is gaining ground once again. Experts point to many causes for this, including droughts, high food costs, climate change, and the precarious state of global agriculture.

And so we pray this news. . .

On Tuesday, October 9, 2012, Malala Yousafzai, a 14-year-old schoolgirl in Pakistan, was shot in the head by Taliban militants in the Swat Valley, who claimed she had become a "symbol of Western culture in the area." She is, in truth, an activist for girls' education in Pakistan. At age 11 she began writing a blog about life under Taliban rule, chronicling the suffering when they closed girls' schools.

There have been widespread protests throughout Pakistan against the shooting, which took place on a school bus. Two others girls were also injured. Malala remains in critical condition; she has been moved to the Armed Forces Institute of Cardiology critical care unit in Rawalpindi

And so we pray this news. . . .

In an article in The New York Times, Jeffrey Gettleman reported on the recent shooting of 22 elephants including several very young ones in the Garamba National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The killers shot them from the air, then landed so they could cut off the ivory tusks worth one million dollars. The park guards suspect that the perpetrators were members of the Ugandan military shooting from a helicopter and using ivory poaching to fund military activities. Other notorious armed groups – the Lord's Resistance Army, the Shabab, and Darfur's Janjaweed – are hunting elephants and using the tusks to buy weapons.

Gettleman writes: "Africa is in the midst of an epic elephant slaughter. Conservation groups say that poachers are wiping out tens of thousands of elephants a year, more than any time in the previous two decades, with the underground ivory trade becoming increasingly militarized."

In Peace to All Beings, Judy Carman notes how many of us are deeply shocked and moved after reading about incidents of human cruelty to animals. We are often moved to take action and to send our prayers to them.

And so we pray this news. . .

Newspapers, magazines, and television reports deliver the story of another suicide: a famous filmmaker leaps to his death off a bridge, a college student exposed by classmates as being gay takes his own life, a young girl mercilessly bullied by her peers hangs herself at home. Soldiers and Native Americans are two groups with high suicide rates.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 36,909 individuals in the United States committed suicide in 2009. This figure makes it the tenth leading cause of death. Sadly, the rate of suicide has been increasing since 2000; this is the highest rate in 15 years.

And so we pray this news. . .

Two earthquakes in northwest Iran on Saturday, August 11, 2012, have killed 300 people and injured 2,600 more, according to reports from Reuters and other news agencies.

The first quake registered at a 6.4 magnitude. It struck 60 kilometers northeast of the city of Tabriz, a trading hub and the home centuries ago of Shams of Tabriz, the spiritual teacher of Rumi. The second quake measured 6.3.

And so we pray this news. . .

On Sunday, August 5, as Sikh Americans gathered for communal prayers in their temple south of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, a gunman entered the building, opened fire, and killed six people and wounded three others. For Sikh Americans, this event was a sad reminder of the many times in their history when they have been the victims of hate violence. Coming just two weeks after another gunman killed 12 people at a midnight screening of a Batman movie in Aurora, Colorado, it was also a grim example of the prevalence of guns in America and our vulnerability to random and/or premeditated gun violence.

And so we pray this news. . .

On July 20, 2012, a few minutes into the midnight screening of the Batman movie The Dark Knight Rises in Aurora, Colorado, a gunman entered the theater, set off tear gas grenades, and then shot into the crowd, using several firearms and many rounds of ammunition. Twelve people were killed and 58 were injured. The shooter was apprehended in the theater's parking lot.

As people around the world reacted to this tragedy, questions emerged again about gun violence in America (each year more than 30,000 Americans die from guns) and the even deeper question of why bad things happen to good people. It is not the first time, nor will it be the last time, when we find ourselves grappling with the unthinkable.

After 9/11, Maggie Oman Shannon, leader of the S&P e-course on Ways to Pray from Around the World and editor of the collection Prayers for Healing, reflected upon these questions and responded in prayer. She offers a version of that prayer now after the Aurora shootings.

And so we pray this news. . .

The United States Supreme Court has upheld the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), a signature piece of legislation for the Obama Administration. Many are grateful for the positive changes in the nation's health care system this act has allowed. (The video below summarizes the problem and the solutions in the ACA.) Others would still prefer a "single payer" program providing universal health care for everyone; they note that 26 million Americans remain uninsured under ACA.

And so we pray this news. . .

Edvard Munch, the artist who painted "The Scream" in 1893, could not have imagined that his most famous work of art would fetch $119.9 million at Sotheby's in 2012. Although this is an interesting news story, we are more taken with Munch's confession that the idea for the painting came to him while on a walk at sunset with friends. He wandered behind them "shiverring with fear" and then "I heard the enormous, infinite scream of nature." In these perilous times we are assaulted by many different screams that demand our attention and spiritual action.

And so we pray this news. . .

In an article in The New York Times, columnist Nicholas Kristof reported on Pope Benedict's reprimand and criticism of American nuns and the organization that represents 80% of them. The Vatican lambasted their emphasis on working for the poor rather than spending their time fighting abortion and gay marriage. Kristof praises the nuns' pathbreaking work: "They were the first feminists, earning doctorates or working as surgeons long before it was fashionable for women to hold jobs. As managers of hospitals, schools, and complex bureaucracies, they were the first female CEOs."

We ask you to join him and us in supporting these incredible women who have been the heart and soul of Catholicism for centuries.

And so we pray this news. . .

The rhino is being hunted into extinction and could disappear forever unless we act now. Statistics show 440 rhinos were brutally killed last year in South Africa by poachers seeking their horns, and more than 100 have already been killed this year. Fueling this devastation is a spike in demand for rhino horns, used for bogus cancer cures, hangover remedies, and good luck charms in China and Vietnam.

And so we pray this news. . .

Over the past year, 30 young Tibetans have committed self-immolation as a form of self-sacrifice to draw attention to the relentless oppression by the Chinese in their homeland. On March 26, 2012, a Tibetan in exile in India set himself on fire and ran through the streets of New Delhi. In Tibet these events have led to a crack-down on monasteries and monks along with the detention of those who persist in having pictures of the Dalai Lama. The New York Times reports that "the Dalai Lama and his subordinates have expressed shock and sadness at the immolations but have called them a reflection of desperation by Tibetans living under a system that represses their religion and culture."

And so we pray this news. . .

February 2012. We read in the news about a tragedy. From New England to Peru, an unprecedented number of dolphins are beaching themselves: 124 have died on Cape Cod and 200 in Chiclayo, Peru. Experts have weighed in with the possible reasons for these strandings: this year's unusual warm weather, movement of prey, decompression, and disease. We wish those scientists well who are trying to find an answer to this ongoing tragedy.

And so we pray this news. . .

The largest "state" in the United States is PovertyUSA. Nearly one in six Americans (46 million people), and one in four children, live there. The government's official poverty threshold for a family of four is $22,314. Trying to live on this number are people working at minimum wage (often with more than one job), seniors on fixed incomes, unemployed people, those suffering from illnesses, and others. The Catholic Campaign for Human Development has designated January as Poverty Awareness Month.

And so we pray this news. . .

Here we are at the end of our first year of "Praying the News." As we look back at the 28 prayers, we would characterize 2011 as a turbulent year for weather and disasters, the rebellions around the world against the power and greed of dictators, the suffering of animals, the tragedy of widespread poverty, and the continued violence against women and gay people. We continue to hold all those affected by these events in our prayers as we near the start of a New Year, and we offer a new prayer for all the peoples of the world.

And so we pray this news. . .

November 2011. The former Defensive Coordinator for the Penn State University football team, Jerry Sandusky, was arrested and charged with sexually assaulting 8 young boys over a 15-year period. Much of the news has revolved around the subsequent firing of the legendary football coach Joe Paterno and a TV interview with Sandusky. But we believe that the focus should be on the victims of sexual abuse.

According to a 1998 Boston University School of Medicine report:

• One in four girls is sexually abused before the age of fourteen.
• One in six boys is sexually abused before the age of sixteen.

And so we pray this news. . .

November 17, 2011, marks the two-month anniversary of the Occupy Wall Street movement, and demonstrations are planned in many locations. Faith leaders and Occupy Wall Street protesters have insisted that nonviolent civil disobedience is the way to go, and to date, what violence has occurred seems to have been initiated by the police trying to break up occupy encampments. Our prayer is that both protesters and police practice nonviolence so that all will be safe and the issues of economic disparity and injury behind the movement will get the attention they deserve.

And so we pray this news. . .

As of October 31, 2011, according to the U.N. Population Fund, there will be 7 billion people on the planet. China and India are the two most populous nations. Large challenges face the peoples of the Earth as a result of this population explosion — poverty and the ever-growing global gap between the haves and the have-nots, food and water shortages, homelessness and an increase in refugees wandering from one place to another, urban problems stemming from people unable to work or provide for their families elsewhere.

And so we pray this news. . .

Occupy Wall Street is an ongoing demonstration in New York City to protest economic and social injustices. Participants have moved into a park in lower Manhattan near Wall Street and have marched through the city; on October 1, 700 protesters were arrested on the Brooklyn Bridge. The protests have spread to other cities, including Washington, D.C., San Francisco, Los Angeles, Boston, Chicago, Miami, Denver, and many smaller communities. On October 1, the NYC General Assembly issued a "Declaration of the Occupation of New York City," stating:

"As we gather together in solidarity to express a feeling of mass injustice, we must not lose sight of what brought us together. We write so that all people who feel wronged by the corporate forces of the world can know that we are your allies.

"As one people, united, we acknowledge the reality: that the future of the human race requires the cooperation of its members; that our system must protect our rights, and upon corruption of that system, it is up to the individuals to protect their own rights, and those of their neighbors; that a democratic government derives its just power from the people, but corporations do not seek consent to extract wealth from the people and the Earth; and that no true democracy is attainable when the process is determined by economic power. We come to you at a time when corporations, which place profit over people, self-interest over justice, and oppression over equality, run our governments. We have peaceably assembled here, as is our right, to let these facts be known."

"We, the New York City General Assembly occupying Wall Street in Liberty Square, urge you to assert your power. Exercise your right to peaceably assemble; occupy public space; create a process to address the problems we face, and generate solutions accessible to everyone. To all communities that take action and form groups in the spirit of direct democracy, we offer support, documentation, and all of the resources at our disposal. Join us and make your voices heard!"

And sp we pray this news. . .

September 14, 2011. Today's news included the U.S. Census Bureau report that 46.2 million Americans — 1 in 6 — are living in poverty. That is the highest number in the 52 years that the Census Bureau has been tracking poverty in America.

And so we pray this news. . .

It is that time of year as children leave behind their summer pleasures to return to school. The routines of getting up on time, putting things in order, doing homework, and keeping distractions to a minimum: these are the rhythms of fall for students of all ages. Parents have important roles to play at this time of year as lovers and cheerleaders of their children. Many of the feature stories in the news these days focus on children going back to school.

And so we pray this news. . .

August 27, 2011. Hurricane Irene made landfall this morning on the Outer Banks of North Carolina and continued making its way up the Eastern seaboard of the United States where hurricane warnings were in effect all the way to Massachusetts. President Barack Obama declared an emergency for New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. More than 2.3 million people were ordered to evacuate their homes. In New York City, where the storm is expected to hit Sunday as a Category I hurricane, the entire subway and bus system was shut down.

"This is probably the largest number of people that have been threatened by a single hurricane in the United States," said Jay Baker, a geography professor at Florida State University. It has been estimated that as many as 60 million people are in the path of this giant storm. For them and their loved ones, we offer this Prayer for Protection originally written by Unity minister James Dillet Freeman for soldiers during World War II. It was carried to the moon by astronaut Col. James Aldrin on Apollo 11 and by Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin on the first manned moon landing.

And so we pray this news. . .

An article on TheWeek.com summarizes the worst food crisis in half a century now happening in the Horn of Africa: Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya, and parts of Uganda, Eritrea, and Djibouti. More than 11 million men, women, and children are suffering and dying in squalid refugee camps. Thousands more are already dead from starvation and malnutrition-related diseases. The situation is being caused by a prolonged drought in the area aggravated by political instability and war, particularly in southern Somalia. There is no end of the drought or the suffering in sight.

At the camps, international aid organizations are working hard to serve the suffering. Care staff members claim that 1,500 displaced refugees are arriving every day to live in terrible conditions often without medical aid, sanitation, or water. Among the new arrivals, 80 percent of them are children. International aid groups are calling this the worst food crisis since the Great Chinese Famine of the late 1950s. This slideshow is a small window into the crisis.

And so we pray this news. . .

July 2011. The U.S. Drought Monitor shows that 29 percent of the country is in drought. Texas and other southern states in the U.S. are suffering from an exceptionally extreme drought, which has dried up farm fields, ponds, and small rivers and increased the threat of wildfires. The situation is similar to some of the world's driest deserts.

And so we pray this news. . .

July 4 is Independence Day in the United States. As our friends at the Network of Spiritual Progressives remind us, Americans have mixed feelings about this day:

"Faced with July 4th celebrations that are focused on militarism, ultra-nationalism, and 'bombs bursting in air,' many American families who do not share those values turn July 4th into another summer holiday focused on picnics, sports, and fireworks, while doing their best to avoid the dominant rhetoric and bombast.

"This year that kind of celebration is particularly difficult when many of us are in mourning as we watch our government commit to keep fighting the trillion dollar a year war in Afghanistan while cutting social programs for the poor, the elderly, schools, environment, and other pressing human needs."

Yet, NSP continues, there is much that is good in American history to celebrate — remarkable advancements brought about by our leaders but also by "ordinary and extraordinary Americans whose struggles brought about those changes." The following prayer remembers those contributions we can all celebrate on July 4th. To see the entire "Interdependence Day Celebration for July 4" by Rabbi Michael Lerner, visit Tikkun.org.

And so we pray this news. . .

Thousands of people have lost their homes to flooding in Minot, North Dakota, as the Souris River has spilled over dikes and levees. Photographs show the widespread devastation caused by this natural disaster, but we can only at this time imagine the extent of the losses inside the homes. Our hearts go out to those whose homes are now submerged under water.

And so we pray this news. . .

On June 24, 2011, New York, home to 42,000 same-sex couples, became the sixth and by far the largest state to legalize same-sex marriage. This means the number of same-sex couples living in states allowing same-sex marriage has more than doubled overnight. In a Reuters release, Columbia Law School professor Suzanne Goldberg noted: "New Yorkers tend to move about the country quite a lot. High numbers of same-sex couples likely to marry here will increase pressure on other states to treat those couples fairly."

And so we pray this news. . .

May 23, 2011: Over 116 people and counting were killed when a devastating tornado struck Joplin, Missouri. Pictures convey the terrible destructiveness of this natural disaster.

And so we pray this news. . .

Graduation is in the news — announced in grade school, high school, college, graduate school, and community newspapers. For families and friends, it's time to congratulate our loved ones. For graduates, it marks a major transition and a new beginning. It is a perfect time for prayers.

And so we pray this news. . .

April, 2011. The U.S. South has felt the brunt of a catastrophic series of tornadoes which have taken the lives of 300 people and counting. Meteorologists have reported over 900 tornadoes since the beginning of the month. Pictures indicate the widespread destruction caused by this severe weather.

And so we pray this news. . .

On April 14, 2011, something unprecedented happened in the U.S. Congress. A budget deal to fund the government, negotiated by Republicans and Democrats and approved by the Obama Administration, included a non-budget related provision to strip federal protections for wolves in the Northern Rockies. The budget rider, attached to the must-past bill by Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) and Rep. Mike Simpson (R-ID), requires the Secretary of the Interior to reinstate the same 2009 delisting of wolves that was declared unlawful by a federal district court, while insulating the provision from any legal challenge.

What does this mean for wolves? It leaves their "management" in the hands of politicians in the states, many of whom have already expressed their desire to see this species eliminated. Widespread hunts of the wolves are likely to happen, with as many as 1000 of them targeted, making the species genetically unsustainable. Less rabid wolf opponents say they simply want to protect livestock from wolves, although non-lethal means of wolf management are available.

Of equal concern is what this anti-wolf campaign means for the Endangered Species Act. If wolves can be delisted because some politicians don't like them, and not for reasons of science or due to decisions by the courts based on that science, then the same thing could happen to salmon, polar bears, grizzly bears, panthers, manatees, and other threatened species. Here is a statement from Defenders of Wildlife on this issue.

And so we pray this news. . .

A Libyan woman, who gave her name as Eman al-Obeidy, burst into a restaurant in Tripoli where Western journalists were eating on March 26 to tell them that she had been taken from her hometown, confined, beaten, and raped by 15 men from Muammar el-Qaddafi's militia. Although some of the journalists tried to interview and protect her, she was quickly restrained and taken away.

This is not an isolated incident. In all wars, some soldiers see women as objects for their own use and use rape as a way to exercise power and vent their rage. In the clip here, a medical team at a morgue report finding Viagra and condoms in the pockets of Qaddafi soldiers. 

And so we pray this news. . .

A massive 8.9 magnitude earthquake hit the Pacific Ocean nearby Northeastern Japan at around 2:46 pm on March 11 (JST) causing damage with blackouts, fires, building collapses, and much more. The nuclear power plant at Fukushima Dai-ichi was damaged, raising concerns about leaking radiation. The earthquake triggered an enormous tsunami that roared over Japanese harbors, towns, and fields, destroying much in its path. The tsunami waves crossed the Pacific region as far as California in the United States. The death toll in human and animal life is still being determined.

And so we pray this news. . .

Discovery.com reports that the United Nations is urging international efforts to save bee colonies which are in serious decline, especially in the industrialized northern hemisphere. Among the reasons for this scary situation are pesticides, air pollution, mismanagement of the countryside, and the loss of flowering plants. UNEP director Achim Steiner notes that of the 100 crop species that provide 90 percent of the world's food, over 70 percent are pollinated by bees.

And so we pray this news. . .

The United Nations refugee agency says almost 100,000 people have fled the fighting in Libya and gone to Tunisia and Egypt. The situation is now seen as a "humanitarian emergency." Many of these people are poor contract workers carrying what they could grab as they left.

And so we pray this news. . .

Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi is killing his own people. There are estimates that as many as 2000 protesters on the streets have lost their lives. Mercenaries with machine guns are shooting down people at random.

And so we pray this news. . .

In response to efforts by Scott Walker, the governor of Wisconsin, to cut the bargaining rights and benefits of public workers, protesters have gathered in Madison to challenge this blatant attempt to cut the power of unions. Teachers, nurses, and other public employees see this as an attack on their rights to organize for better pay, benefits, and working conditions. Here's a gallery of images of what's been happening.

And so we pray this news. . .

February 1, 2011. After a week of street demonstrations against the regime of Hosni Mubarak regime, the people of Egypt are calling for a change of government and an end to the inequalities which have created a tremendous gap between the rich and the poor. Underlying all the chaos is the yearning of a repressed people for a taste of freedom.

And so we pray this news. . .

The Boston Globe reports on the devastation in Brazil in mid-January 2011: "Last week, a series of flash floods and mudslides struck the Serrana mountain region near Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, destroying buildings roads and more. Nearly 14,000 people are now homeless, 759 are reported to have been killed and another 400 remain missing in this, Brazil's worst-ever natural disaster. As soldiers make their way to remote towns with aid and transportation, Brazil's government has said it would accelerate efforts to build up a nationwide disaster-prevention and early-warning system. Collected here are photos from the mountainous regions near Rio that were so hard-hit by these landslides."

Click on image to see a slideshow.

And so we pray this news. . .

January, 2011. Australia is experiencing the worst flooding in decades, affecting an area of the state of Queensland the size of Germany and France. Towns have been turned into islands amidst muddy lakes that were once farmlands. The state's coal industry has been shut down. On January 11, the flood waters reached Brisbane, the third largest city in the country, affecting thousands of homes and yards. As the video from Toowoomba shows, rivers of water carried cars away, eventually depositing them in piles.

And so we pray this news. . .

On January 8, 2011, Gabrielle Giffords, a Democratic member of the U.S. Congress, was shot in the head outside a grocery store in Tucson, Arizona, while holding a public event. Six other people at the gathering, including a judge and a nine-year-old girl, were killed by the shooter.

And so we pray this news. . .

In an article in The New York Times, Huma Imtiaz and Charlotte Cuchen describe the heated-up war against Sufism, the mystical expression of Islam, in Pakistan. Sufism is popular in that country, attracting millions to festivals through the year and thousands for daily visits to shrines dedicated to Sufi saints. Hard-line Islamic militants are targeting the shrines, taking responsibility for five shrine attacks in 2010 that killed 64 worshippers.

Despite the dangers, the people continue to visit the shrines. In a video accompanying the article, a popular devotional singer joins the crowds of singing and dancing Sufis at a shrine in Lahore, and then learns later of a deadly attack on a shrine in Karachi. 

And so we pray this news. . .

Poet and Rumi translator Coleman Barks has observed that all the mystical traditions revere birds and their songs. They represent our yearnings for purity, freedom, play, and deliver "messages of ineffable joy." In addition, we can appreciate them as fellow pilgrims on earth, guides to the meaning of place, soul singers, and ambassadors from other worlds. As nature enthusiast Barry Lopez notes: "Birds tug at the mind and heart with a strange intensity." 

Perhaps because we share these sentiments, we were sad to hear the news on January 1, 2011, that more than 5,000 red-winged blackbirds had fallen from the sky in Beebe, Arkansas, covering roofs, streets, and lawns for more than a mile. Then a few days later, 500 more birds fell in Louisiana. What caused this bizarre happening? There are a few theories but nothing definitive.

The deaths of the red-winged blackbirds tugs at our souls, and we include them in our prayers. These birds are early spring migrants and often quite vociferous about their needs. We commend these 5,500 creatures to the God of all feathered beings.

And so we pray this news. . .

Years ago, we stumbled across "Pray the News," a website run by a group of Carmelite nuns in Indianapolis, Indiana. Three or four sisters regularly offered prayers, litanies, and spiritual commentaries on the news. When the order moved, they closed down the website, although they assured their regular visitors, like us, that they would continue their personal practice of lifting to God the news of the day. We trust that the good sisters will not object to our taking up this prayer practice now at Spirituality & Practice.

"Everything that one turns in the direction of God is prayer," said Ignatius Loyola, founder of the Society of Jesus. Richard Foster, a Quaker who has written wisely on different kinds of prayer, calls one type "Praying the Ordinary"; it is seeing God in the ordinary experiences of life. We will keep these broad definitions in mind as we read the news for people, situations, and events that call for prayers, but most of the prayers offered here will be intercessory prayers. We will be asking for God's help and healing presence for our world. We will pray especially for those parts of the creation in crisis that they may experience our compassion and know God's love.

We hope that by praying the news in this way we will also expand both our spirituality and our practice. It is as Jane Vennard writes in Praying for Friends and Enemies:

"True compassion brings us into solidarity with all of God's people. Solidarity not only connects us to others, it makes us one with all our sisters and brothers, including those on the opposite side of the battlefield. Compassion and solidarity are not easy. They are awakened in us slowly. As we pray for others, our prayers are gradually transformed, our hearts are softened, and our eyes are opened. Once opened we can never close our eyes again. We begin to see the world through God's eyes of love."

May this blog awaken our compassion for all people and all of God's creation.