Below is a prayer that focuses on the plight of children in every land and nation who are abused, or have their rights taken from them.  If you come across a prayer that draws our collective consciousness to this issue, an issue that would certainly move Blessed Edmund Rice if he were alive today, please send it along by contacting the website manager under "Contact Us".

PRAYER FOR CHILDREN

Lord Jesus, you proclaimed your concern for the small and the weak, and were especially clear in your concern for children. Their very nature is fragile, and because they are vulnerable they are an easy prey for people who exploit them.  Although their rights were formally confirmed in 1989, there have been many victims of abuse since then throughout the world.

And so we pray to you, O Lord:

for the children who are forced to work from their earliest years in cruel conditions
for the children press-ganged into armies and trained in violence and cruelty
for the children abandoned and left to live in the streets hunting for food and shelter
for the children sexually exploited by perverted and ruthless people
for the children accused of possession by demons or sorcery, who are blamed for every wrong and subjected to cruel punishment
for the children with mental or physical disabilities who are abandoned, or depicted as sexual objects, or tormented because of their weakness
for the children who are undernourished or have no medicine, and so cannot grow up normally
for the children who commit crimes and are kept in prisons in degrading conditions, with no chance to learn better

Lord, you once said: ‘Let the children come to me. Do not stop them, for the Kingdom of God is for those who are like them’. Hear our prayer and give all children throughout the world the joy of life and hope for a better future.

Amen.