A Guide to Praying Through the News

The news is terrible, every day. I can’t even look at the headlines without dissolving into despair and rage. In this time of isolation, it’s easy to feel like we can’t do anything to help. But I have been working over the past few months to recognize the news as an invitation to embrace my connection to every other human being in the world, every single one of whom bears the image of God. Sitting down with the newspaper has become a beautiful way for me to remember that we are all called, through prayer and action, to participate in the great work of redemption of all creation.

I wrote this prayer guide in the fall of 2019, thinking of the refugee crisis, the Rohingya genocide, the Amazon wildfires. But I have been returning to it again and again during these days of pandemic, especially as a bridge to carry me over the river of impersonal numbers, to reanimate my connection to all who suffer, to remind me to offer my small sufferings for the relief of their unimaginable ones.

The prayer guide is a short PDF (just over two pages), and you can feel free to download, print, and use it however helps you the most. It’s based on Ignatian principles and makes mention of several Catholic devotions, but it’s for everyone. Thank you for praying with me! Here is the link.