Weekly Peace Prayer
for February 17, 2026
prepared by
Sister Carmel Little, CSJP
During Black History Month, we raise up the memory of Black Americans whose lives inspire us to live our baptismal call to the fullest, and implore their intercession to blot out the sin of racism
Constitutions:
In recognizing the dignity of all persons,
we commit ourselves to education and action
that aim to eliminate discrimination
in all its forms within the congregation,
in those places and institutions where we minister,
and in the wider society. #24
Reading:
Pierre Toussaint was born into a Catholic slave family on June 27, 1766, on a French plantation in modern day Haiti. The Bérard family educated him as a house slave and took him with them when they moved to New York City in 1787. He was apprenticed as a hairdresser, and since the wealthy had hairdressers come to their homes and he was allowed to keep much of his earnings, his kind and cheerful disposition assured a steady and lucrative position in the society of the time. He took the surname of “Toussaint” in honor of the hero of the Haitian revolution. Due to his service to the family he was freed at age 45. He then married and purchased a house where together he and his wife fostered orphans, supporting them in getting an education and learning a trade. Bilingual in French and English, he was able to help many Haitian immigrants, organizing a credit bureau, an employment agency and a refuge for destitute travelers. He attended daily Mass and was a benefactor of many charitable organizations. He died on June 30, 1853, and was declared Venerable in 1996.
All: O God, through your servant Pierre, you show us the many ways of bringing about social justice in society.
Quiet Reflection
Reading:
Thea Bowman was born in Mississippi on December 29, 1937. Her grandfather had been born a slave but her father was a physician and her mother a teacher. Though they were Methodists, they enrolled in her in a Catholic school and at age nine she asked them if she could become Catholic. After high school she joined the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration at LaCrosse, Wisconsin, the only Black sister in the congregation. She went on to higher studies at the Catholic University in Washington, D.C., earning a Ph.D. in English. After teaching for sixteen years, she became directly involved in ministry to her fellow African Americans. Gifted with a brilliant mind, a beautiful voice and a dynamic personality, Sister Thea shared the message of God’s love through inspirational talks across the country and beyond. Her work had a huge impact upon Catholic liturgical music in providing an intellectual, spiritual, historical, and cultural foundation for developing and legitimizing a distinct worship form for Black Catholics. In 1984, Sr. Thea was diagnosed with breast cancer. She prayed “to live until I die.” Her prayer was answered, and Thea continued her gatherings seated in a wheelchair. In 1989, the U.S. bishops invited her to be a key speaker at their conference on Black Catholics. She died at age 52 on March 30, 1990.
All: O God, you raised up your daughter Thea to show us the beauty and joy of a worship that is grounded in life experience.
Quiet Reflection
Leader: In all humility we strive to honestly assess our own unconscious motives and deepen our belief that we are all made in the image of God, brothers and sisters sharing life on a fragile planet. In this spirit, let us pray:
Provident God,
aware of our own brokenness, we ask the gift of courage to identify how and where we are in need of conversion in order to live in solidarity with Earth and all creation.
Gracious God,
deliver us from the violence of superiority and disdain.
Compassionate God,
grant us the desire and the humility to listen with special care to those whose experiences and attitudes are different from our own.
Generous God ,
deliver us from the violence of greed and privilege.
Provident God,
grant us the desire and the will to live simply so that others may have their just share of the Earth’s resources.
God of justice,
deliver us from the silence that gives consent to abuse, war and evil.
God of courage,
grant us the desire and the courage to risk speaking and acting for the common good.
God of the earth,
grant us the desire and the strength to act responsibly within the cycle of creation.
God of love, mercy and justice,
acknowledging our complicity in those attitudes, actions and words which perpetuate violence, we beg the grace of a nonviolent heart.
Amen.
© The Catholic Health Association of the United States (adapted)
