Prayer for Healing Victims of Abuse

This week Pope Francis has summoned the heads of all the Bishops’ conferences throughout the world to the Vatican for a summit on clerical sex abuse. Let us keep in our minds and hearts those who have been victimized by Priests and pray that our leaders will be open to the Holy Spirit. A prayer is provided below:

God of endless love,
ever caring, ever strong,
always present, always just:
You gave your only Son
to save us by the blood of his cross.

Gentle Jesus, shepherd of peace,
join to your own suffering
the pain of all who have been hurt
in body, mind, and spirit
by those who betrayed the trust placed in them.

Hear our cries as we agonize
over the harm done to our brothers and sisters.
Breathe wisdom into our prayers,
soothe restless hearts with hope,
steady shaken spirits with faith:
Show us the way to justice and wholeness,
enlightened by truth and enfolded in your mercy.

Holy Spirit, comforter of hearts,
heal your people’s wounds
and transform our brokenness.
Grant us courage and wisdom, humility and grace,
so that we may act with justice
and find peace in you.
We ask this through Christ, our Lord. Amen

Watch Out for Email Scams

This week, people from several Brooklyn Heights organizations, including our church and other churches in the area, received emails urgently asking people to buy gift cards and send the codes via email. These all purported to be from organization leaders, but came from fraudulent email addresses. Stay safe by keeping these tips in mind:

1. We will only ask for contributions from our online giving site on WeShare, https://stcharlesbklyn.weshareonline.org or the sites on the Diocese’s Giving page, https://dioceseofbrooklyn.org/giving/ , or we will ask donations to be physically brought to Mass or the Rectory Office.
2. Check to see if the request comes from someone you trust: even if the From: name is someone you know, the email address may not be their address. Be wary if the message is poorly worded or does not “sound” like something the sender would write.
3. If in doubt, don’t hesitate to independently confirm the email – give them a call or text or ask in person. You can always call the Rectory at (718) 625-1177.

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