Faithful God, you led your people from slavery to freedom; give each of us the right way of seeing our own story. We are all strangers; all of us belong to the same great family, all linked to one another. We pray to you: heal our wounds, which we have inherited from a past that is still to be faced. Give us ears that listen, that seek to understand. Send on us your Holy Spirit, Spirit of peace and consolation, so that we may be a leaven of reconciliation in the places where you call us to live.