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St. Thomas à Becket Foundation |
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making a
difference |
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| 1st.
June 2008 |
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| Theme:
Wisdom and
Compassion |
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| Thought: |
‘What we need is compassion towards
those who still suffer.’ |
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While his brother, John F Kennedy, was
President of the United States, Robert Kennedy became Attorney-General,
the government chief law officer. One of the great problems of the time
was prejudice and discrimination against people who were not white.
Robert Kennedy and his brother (the President) had worked together with
Martin Luther King (a black leader) to get Civil Rights laws passed by
the United States Congress and Senate.
Both President John Kennedy and Martin
Luther King were assassinated. On the 5 June in 1968, Robert Kennedy
was shot as he campaigned to become President himself. He died the
following day, aged 42. his murder depressed the hopes of many people. |
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Two months before his own death, Robert
Kennedy spoke the following words after the assassination of Martin
Luther King: |
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“What we need…is not
division.
What we need…is not
hatred.
What we need…is not
violence and lawlessness,
But love and wisdom and
compassion toward one another,
And a feeling of justice toward those who still
suffer…’ |
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Robert Kennedy often concluded his
speeches with this quote from the poet, George Bernard Shaw:
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‘You see
things as they are and you ask, “Why?” But I dream
things that never were and I ask, “Why
not?” |
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Readings:
Rev 7:10,12;
Psalm 117(118); 1 John 4:16 |
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Lord we pray,
That we may not be people of hatred or
violence or lawlessness, but people of love and wisdom and compassion
towards one another, having a sense of justice towards all who suffer.
These things that we pray for give us your grace to work for. Amen.
Let us pray to Christ the Lord, the sun
who enlightens all women and men, whose light will never fail us. Lord
our Saviour, give us life!
Lead us by your Spirirt to do your will;
guide us and protect us by your wisdom. Lord our Saviour, give us
life!
Bring us to share with joy the
Eucharist; nourish us by your word and by your body. Lord our Saviour,
give us life! |
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| Lord, grant us your gifts, though we are
unworthy; with all our hearts we thank you. Lord our Saviour, give us
life. |
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