National Day of Prayer in Solidarity with Indigenous Peoples, 2015: Introduction and Prayer

Thursday, October 22 2015

Catholicism and Traditional Indigenous Spirituality – A Reflection on Commonalities

The National Day of Prayer in Solidarity with Indigenous Peoples has been celebrated on December 12 since 2002. The following reflection by the Canadian Catholic Aboriginal Council identifies areas of commonality found in Traditional Aboriginal spirituality and the Catholic faith, seeking to point out bridges for mutual understanding. These will hopefully lead to a deeper respect and appreciation among all Catholics toward traditional Indigenous spirituality, and at the same time show how Aboriginal Catholics see a relationship between their Catholic faith and their cultural and personal identity.

The belief in a benevolent Creator, a natural world that is good, the need to answer the call to live a life of virtue, and the importance of communication with the Creator are some of the elements that Catholic and Indigenous spiritualties have in common.

There is a similarity in Catholic and Indigenous spiritualties as both are committed to a relationship with the Divine Being who is honored and loved for His gifts and kindnesses to the human world.

Link to the complete text (PDF)

Together we pray:

O Great Creator, we give praise and thanks to You for our lives and world. You make all things new and good, and you invite your peoples throughout creation to receive and share all that is good with each other. Thank you for how wonderfully and intimately You share Your life with us all. Likewise, we seek deepening relationships with each other and all Creation.

We commit to live and work with one another – our families; our communities; all cultures, nations, and peoples – in union with Mary, all the Saints, and our Grandfathers and Grandmothers who have gone before us and inspire us. We thank Your Great Holy Spirit for the great variety of gifts and talents You give Your people, and we commit to always using Your blessings to help one another and all Creation.

O God, there are many challenges in the world. We thank You for the gift of Your Son – Jesus Christ, Who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. We rely on our friendship in Jesus and the power of Your Great Spirit to help us live good and moral lives. May our journey towards deepening virtue help us to battle evil and to bring blessing to the most difficult challenges.

We commit, O Creator, to share with and care for each other as You continue to do with us: with great reverence, generosity, and respect.

All praise and thanks to you, O Creator, for the privilege and call to share in Your wonderful life!

Amen.