Prayer for the Terror-Stricken

God of the afflicted:
On this anniversary of [the Montreal massacre
where a man who declared feminists his enemy
opened fire in a school,
killing fourteen, wounding fourteen]
on this day we turn to you.
We pray for healing for all affected by acts of terror.
Terror from a bomb, or a gun,
or a knife, or a rope, or a body,
terror from any force poised for cruelty.
You know what happened next.
Be with all who are picking up,
with tears, the pieces of their lives,
painstakingly living to see another day,
and another, and another,
becoming survivors.
Be with them in the fear that haunts them daily
and pursues them in their dreams at night.
Be with them in their anger,
which fuels their drive for justice,
and their certainty that this must not happen again.
And yet it happens to another,
and another, and another.
Almighty God, where are you?
Jesus, do you see our suffering?
Holy Spirit, where is your relief?
God of the terror-stricken,
God of the terror-survivors,
God of the terror-fighters,
God of all who work for peace,
we pray to you today:
deliver us from evil.