Missionaries of the Sacred

Please join us in prayer today for all women, especially those who are victims of violence and discrimination.

While violence and injustice affect men, women and children, women and girls often bear a disproportionate share of the burden. In the United States, women account for 78% of the deaths caused by intimate partner violence, and 70% of the victims of human trafficking. Worldwide, one in three women has been beaten, coerced into sex or otherwise abused during her lifetime and more than half the children who don’t have access even to a primary school education are girls.  So today we pray for the 500,000 mothers who die needlessly during childbirth, for the 40 million girls denied a basic education and for the 700,000 women and children trafficked into slavery, as well as for all victims of rape, for all girls forced into early marriage, and for all women who suffer violence at the hands of their own family members, spouses or boyfriends.

Today we also honor the women who have helped and inspired us, the mother who loves us unconditionally, the wife who always stands by us, the colleagues and supervisors who challenge us, and the Religious sisters who nourish our faith. As we continue our efforts to eradicate poverty and promote peace, may we also find ways to promote respect for the dignity of all people: men, women, boys and girls.