Dear Brothers and
Sisters in Christ,
There is increasing
anxiety within our Nation as we continued to be faced with the COVID-19
pandemic which has disrupted the normal course of our existence. Many persons
have died, and many more are suffering complications from the virus, and many
persons remain burdened by the infliction of common ailments. In addition, as a
people we are disturbed at the level of criminal activity involving abduction,
abuse, robberies and murders. Also, there is a growing intolerance with
commonplace corruption in business and governance.
Even though there
have been growing concerns, by Christians, regarding the above anomalies within
the Jamaican society, in recent times groups of Intercessors in Jamaica and
other countries have been making a call for repentance. Such a call is not
extraordinary, and is in fact timely, in view of the various challenges that
are a cause for anxiety as religious activities, social engagement and economic
pursuits are gravely affected with increasing debilitating impact on our
existence.
This is indeed a
time for more than routine prayer. This is time for intentional prayer by way
of our Catholic practice through a Novena for the Repentance, Safety and
Well-being of Jamaica.
1. Pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet, using the Chaplet in Song
available on YouTube. (You can sing along with the Chaplet or follow with your
rosaries).
2. Use
as a guide the Examination of Conscience and Praying the Repentance prayer: Psalm 51 and prayer for the
Nation.
3. Close with The Lord’s Prayer and your favourite
worship song(s) to the Lord our God.
4. Make arrangement to celebrate
the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
We are asking
persons/families to dedicate time every day of the Novena to express contrition
to our God, showing that we are sorry for sins we have committed individually
or as a Nation. Hence, nurture an intentional attitude to forgive others and to
seek forgiveness from those we have offended.
Prayer teams and
groups may add appropriate praise and worship songs and prayers according to
the time they can spend in this special Novena prayer, each day for
nine days, Sunday October 4 - 12, 2020.
We look forward to
your support of this effort and to the coming together of families in this time
of repentance and worship, because families remain the bedrock of our Nation.
In addition to a
general invitation to your Congregants, please entrust this cause to your
Prayer Meeting Group, Legion of Mary, Youth & Young Adult Groups, and other
groups so as to initiate a wide cross section of participation and dedication
to the time of prayer and repentance that is called for.
Yours in
Christ,
Most Rev.
Kenneth D. Richards, D.D.
Archbishop of
Kingston
Examination of Conscience
• Harboured anger for God, blamed God for my failings?
• Disobeyed the commandments of God, the Church, and refused to accept what God has revealed as true?
• Neglected to nourish and protect my faith, despaired about my salvation or the forgiveness of my sins?
• Presumed God's mercy? Deliberately commit a sin in expectation of forgiveness, or ask forgiveness without interior conversion to practise virtue, hide a serious sin or told a lie in Confession?
• Loved someone or something more than God (money, power, illicit sex, ambition, etc)?
• Engaged in superstitious practices? (Incl. horoscopes, fortune tellers, obeah or occult practices, ouija board, worship of Satan, etc.)
• Used the name of God in cursing or blasphemy, used vulgar, suggestive or obscene speech?
• Failed to keep vows, promises, or resolutions that I have made to God, committed perjury, lie under oath?
• Watched television or movies, or listened to music that treated God, the Church, the Saints, or sacred things irreverently?
•
Do I respect the life and dignity of other human
persons from conception through natural death?
•
Do I recognize the face of Jesus Christ
reflected in other persons whatever their race, class, age, or abilities?
•
Do I work to protect the dignity of others when
it is being threatened?
•
Am I committed to protecting human life and to
ensuring that other persons are able to live in dignity?
•
Do I try to make positive contributions in my
family and in my community?
•
Are my beliefs, attitudes, and choices such that
they strengthen or undermine relationship in my family?
•
Am I aware of problems facing my local community
and involved in efforts to find solutions? Do I stay informed and make my voice
heard when needed?
•
Do I support the efforts to assist poor persons
and work for change in their neighbourhoods
and communities? Do my attitudes and interactions empower or undermine others?
•
Do I recognize and respect the economic, social,
political, and cultural rights of others?
•
Do I live in material comfort and excess while
remaining insensitive to the needs of others whose rights are unfulfilled?
•
Do I take seriously my responsibility to ensure
that the rights of persons in need are realized?
•
Do I urge those in power to implement programs
and policies that give priority to the human dignity and rights of all,
especially the vulnerable?
•
Do I give special attention to the needs of the
poor and vulnerable in my community and in the world?
•
Am I disproportionately concerned for my own
good at the expense of others?
•
Do I engage in service and advocacy work that
protects the dignity of poor and vulnerable persons?
•
As an owner and employer, do I treat workers
fairly?
•
As a worker, do I give my employer a fair day’s
work for my wages? Do I treat all workers with whom I interact with respect, no
matter their position or class?
•
Do I support the rights of all workers to
adequate wages, health insurance, vacation and sick leave? Do I affirm their
right to form or join unions or worker associations?
• Do my purchasing choices take into account the hands involved in the production of what I buy? When possible, do I buy products produced by workers whose rights and dignity were respected?
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•
Does the way I spend my time reflect a genuine
concern for others?
•
Is solidarity incorporated into my prayer and
spirituality? Do I lift up vulnerable people throughout the world in my prayer,
or is it reserved for only my personal concerns?
•
Am I attentive only to my local neighbours, forget those in other places?
•
Do I see all members of the human family as my
brothers and sisters?
•
Do I belittle
others in my speech?
•
Do I live out my responsibility to care for
God’s creation?
•
Do I see my care for creation as connected to my
concern for poor persons, who are most at risk from environmental problems?
•
Do I litter? Live wastefully? Use energy
too freely? Are there ways I could reduce consumption in my life?
•
Are there ways I could change my daily practices
and those of my family, school, workplace, or community to better conserve the
earth’s resources for future generations?
THE FOLLOWING IS PRAYED EACH DAY OF THE NOVENA
Psalm 51 and Repentance for Jamaica
“ Have mercy upon me, O God, according to
thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out
my transgressions.
2 Wash me thoroughly
from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I acknowledge
my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.
4 Against thee, thee
only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest
be justified when thou speakest, and be clear
when thou judgest.
5 Behold, I was
shaped in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.
6 Behold, thou desirest
truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know
wisdom.
7 Purge me with
hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
8 Make me to hear joy
and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.
9 Hide thy face from
my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities.
10 Create in me a
clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.”
Have mercy on Jamaica Lord God, as a people we have sinned in so many ways and done evil
in your sight. I repent Lord God for our Nation and seek your mercy and
forgiveness
I repent, O God for the many sins of our nation, sins I may have
contributed to, knowingly or unknowingly. Touch the hearts of the people of
Jamaica, in particular our leaders in every sphere of life that they may repent
also and seek your face.
In the days and weeks ahead, bring to mind any forgotten sin
that as a nation we may repent and ask your forgiveness.
Forgive us Lord for failing to stand up for righteousness in
this Nation.
We humbly seek thy Mercy oh God, In the name of the Father, the
Son and the Holy Spirit.