Holocaust Memorial Day 2019 prayers and poems: What to say for Holocaust Memorial Day
HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL DAY falls this month. Here are some prayers and poems to honour the day.
Holocaust Memorial Day: A history
The official HMD website states: “We’re fortunate here in the UK; we are not at immediate risk of genocide.
“However, discrimination has not ended, nor has the use of the language of hatred or exclusion.
“There is still much to do to create a safer future and HMD is an opportunity to start this process.”
What to say to honour Holocaust Memorial Day
As HMD can be marked by all faiths, prayers can vary from religion to religion; however, one typical prayer is the prayer of penance.
There are also prayers written specifically for the day, one being A Holocaust Prayer by Philip Hall.
Lord God and Father,
We remember before you all those who bear the inner and outer scars of the
Holocaust and of subsequent acts of genocide.
Let them not be overwhelmed by the horrors that engulfed them.
Be close to them.
Help them to see that you suffer with those who suffer,
and that no wickedness can ever extinguish your infinite love.
Restrain those who are filled with hatred and use violence to pursue their ends.
Change their hearts.
May remembrance make us alert to the reality of evil and its deceptive allure.
Help us to recognise our own capacity for evil and allow your Spirit to
purge it from our beings.
Help us also to stand up against evil and oppression, even if that means we have to
suffer ourselves.
Enable us to defend those who are not strong enough to defend themselves,
and to be ready to bring the light of your truth into the dark areas of human
experience.
Deepen our respect for everything you have made, and help us to share in securing
the maximum good of every person who is alive in your world.
We ask this in the Name of your Son Jesus Christ,
who died for our sins, carries our sorrows, heals our wounds,
and is risen for our freedom.
Amen
Poems
Never Shall I Forget from Night by Elie Wiesel - a survivor of the Holocaust
Never shall I forget that night, the first night in camp, that turned my life into one long night seven times sealed.
Never shall I forget that smoke.
Never shall I forget the small faces of the children whose bodies I saw transformed into smoke under a silent sky.
Never shall I forget those flames that consumed my faith for ever.
Never shall I forget the nocturnal silence that deprived me for all eternity of the desire to live.
Never shall I forget those moments that murdered my God and my soul and turned my dreams to ashes.
Never shall I forget those things, even were I condemned to live
as long as God Himself.
Never.
Tisha B’Av - We do not mourn alone
We sit forlornly on the ground, lamenting,
yet we do not mourn alone.
God clothes the skies with darkness
and covers them with sack,
He clouds the light of sun and moon,
and dims the twinkling stars.
He rends His purple robes
and walks barefoot,
sits lone and silent as He weeps
and asks again, ‘Where are you?’