Blessed Savior, God of all mankind, listen to our plea:
It’s not us, Lord; we’re not racists!
We may not be racists as we imagine them, i.e., the Proud Boys or Oath
Keepers, but racism is subtle, and it affects us all. Help us to catch our
gentle improprieties, and hidden fears, our stated preferences. Free us
from making assumptions based on too little knowledge. Give us the
curiosity to see how other cultures live, to show our interest as we reach
out, to ask and to learn. The only racism I know is my own, Lord, and I
don’t know it very well. I ignore it and pretend it doesn’t exist. Perhaps that
is the greatest danger of all.
Lord, we like to be among people who are like us. That is perhaps the most
pervasive and destructive racism of all, and you were not like that! You
approached the Samaritan woman at the well; you healed the Canaanite
woman’s daughter. If there was prejudice woven into your upbringing, you
overcame it that day. You forgave the Roman soldiers who were crucifying
you. Help us to approach, learn, and forgive ourselves so that we can move
on in peace and fellowship with all women and men. Help us to see as you
see, the heart and not the skin.
We thank you dear Lord for all your mercies. Amen.
-by Ann Thomas