VICAR

Dear Readers of Country Squire Magazine, I trust that You are well and settled into the new year.

This year, in a time of lies and war, let us especially pray for justice and for peace:

Almighty and most merciful God, King of Kings and Judge of all the earth, we humble ourselves before Thy sovereign majesty. We acknowledge that from Thy hand comes all authority, and before Thy throne, every secret shall be laid bare. Grant us, we beseech Thee, a proper dread of Thy perfect justice, that we might rightly pursue earthly justice here below. Instil in the hearts of magistrates, jurors, and all who hold the scales, a spirit of unwavering clarity, untainted by fashion or favour. May they be granted the wisdom of Solomon to discern truth from falsehood, and the courage of Daniel to render verdicts without fear. Banish from courts and councils all cowardice, corruption, wokeness, and the clamour of the mob. Let integrity be their bench and truth their gavel. For those who have been wronged—the defrauded, the slandered, the oppressed who wait in weary silence—we pray Thy swift and certain relief. Be Thou their shield and their exceedingly great reward. For the guilty, we pray not merely for penalty, but for repentance; not just for sentence, but for salvaged souls. In our own hearts, Lord, root out the partiality we harbour and the prejudices we nurse. Teach us to love mercy, even as we seek justice. Remind us that our own cause is never entirely pure, and that we all shall one day stand before Thy divine assize. Where laws are unjust, give reformers fortitude. Where laws are just but unenforced, give officers resolve. And in all things, let not the triumph of the powerful be confused with the triumph of the right. We ask this not for the peace of quiet submission, but for the peace of a righteous order—the peace that flows from Thy throne, and without which no community can long endure. Through Jesus Christ our Lord, in whom justice and mercy met upon the wood. Amen.

Have a peaceful Sunday and an excellent week.

God bless You all.