Wednesday, August 6, 2008

August 6th: Hiroshima Day of Remembrance


Today on the Feast of the Transfiguration, we mourn over the global transformation that took place in 1945 when the first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, Japan.



For prayer and reflection, here is a powerful litany, written by Susan Adams, a missionary in Japan for 13 years, courtesy of the United Church of Christ:

Remember and Transform: A Responsive Prayer on Hiroshima Day (pdf)

. . . . and from our U.S. Bishops, more to reflect on and pray about:

We oppose the continued readiness of the United States to use nuclear weapons, especially against non-nuclear threats, and the potential development of new weapons for this purpose. . . Our nation should lead in the challenging task of envisioning a future rooted in peace, with new global structures of mediation and conflictresolution, and with a world order that has moved beyond nuclear weapons.

U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Statement on New Nuclear Treaty and U.S. Nuclear Weapons Policy, 2002





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