“I pray that… you may find light, peace and consolation. We are willing to empty ourselves, to bend low, to wash feet, to heal wounds, all for the dear neighbor.”
~Mother Bernard Gosselin CSJ

                                                                                                                  Artist Unknown

A Prayer for Peace

Adapted from a prayer by Eric Cherry

The history is complex,
the politics are intense,
the fear and anger are overwhelming,
and the future is unclear.

But glimpses of a hopeful vision
will not be bombed into oblivion
by anyone.

In prayer, we call to mind the peacemakers.
Neighbors of differing faiths
with different histories
with different politics
with different emotions

Who find room for each other
in their hearts
in their dreams
and in their lives

Those who hold firmly to a 
vision of peace and justice
anywhere in the world.

But, especially, today, 
in Ukraine.

Today we hold with gentle hands our for all who sit with heavy hearts while watching events unfold in Ukraine. Please know of our prayers, concerns and solidarity with you as we pray for peace amongst all nations.   

As Mother Teresa stated: “If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.”  Let us remember we belong to each other as we extend care to our one another and our community members concerned for their loved ones.

We pray for the power to be gentle; the strength to be forgiving; the patience to be understanding; and the endurance to accept the consequences to holding to what we believe to be right.

May we put our trust in the power of the good to overcome evil and the power of love to overcome hatred.

We pray for the vision to see and the faith to believe in a world emancipated from violence, a new world where fear shall no longer lead humans to commit injustice, nor selfishness make them bring suffering to others.

Help us to devote our whole life and thought and energy to the task of making peace, praying always for the inspiration and the power to fulfill the destiny for which we were created.     

By Elizabeth McCabe (Adapted)

Dear God,
May my mind not be clouded today
By confusing thoughts that lead me nowhere,
Unimportant things that block the truth,
Or fears that hide my love.
Every instant may Your spirit remind me of who I really am, who others really are,
And why all of us are here. 
Amen.

By Mareanne Williamson