This week our Prayer for Peace comes in the form of a video. The link is below.
This prayer was written by a young girl, Harriet Paterson, and illustrations in the video are by children.
God of love,
We pray for peace in our world, and an end to war.
Instead of hatred, let there be love.
Shelter your children and protect us.
Guide us and keep us from harm,
so we can build a world of love and live our lives in peace.
Amen.
Catholic Agency for Overseas Development
this prayer comes from Christchurch Cathedral in New Zealand
God of many names, lover of all peoples
we pray for peace in our nations and in our world.
We pray for all who have the awesome responsibility
of power and decision-making.
We pray for the innocent victims of violence and war.
Lead us and all peoples of the world
from death to life, from falsehood to truth.
Lead us from despair to hope, from fear to trust.
Lead us from hate to love, from war to peace.
Let peace with justice fill our hearts,
our world,
our universe.
AMEN
Loving God,
The burden of war is a heavy burden to carry;
we pray for those weighed down by warfare.
We pray for those caught up in the turmoil,
in the fear, in the danger, and in the stress.
We pray for parents and children sheltering.
We pray for people in the heat of combat.
We pray for the vulnerable and marginalized.
We pray for those without the medication essential to their health
and for those denied food.
We pray for all who, exposed to the horrors of war, suffer in mind and body.
The burden of war is a heavy burden to carry.
We pray for those weighed down by warfare;
we pray for those who must leave home and family
to escape the conflict.
We pray for those who travel to family or friends abroad.
We pray for those who find a welcoming place to stay for a while.
We pray for refugees, for those who will never be able to return to their home,
in all the loss, in all the pain, in all the heartache.
We pray for those separated from their loved ones, and for those
who do not know where their loved ones are.
The burden of war is a heavy burden to carry;
we pray for those weighed down by warfare.
We pray for those who search for peace.
We pray for national leaders in whose hands are life and death,
that the loss suffered by so many may be
measured against any powerful gains.
We pray for the peacemakers as they struggle to get parties
to the conflict to listen to one another and to talk to each other.
We acknowledge that by contacting power persons,
by demonstrating, and by prayer, we may hasten the way of peace.
The burden of war is a heavy burden to carry.
Loving God,
In your strength we face the reality of war with courage,
with your patience we help the war-torn compassionately,
through your peace we witness old conflicts ended
and new beginnings bud and bloom,
through your peace we envision an end to all wars. Amen
―David Sparks
Light a candle, as a visible sign of the light of Christ, who is the light of the world.
Take a deep breath. Feel the breath of God that has given you life.
Centre yourself and pray…
God of all creation, bring justice and peace to our world.
Teach us to be peacemakers.
Guide us in our pursuit of justice and the common good.
Inspire us to welcome all, forgive all, and love all.
Direct us as we walk in the shadow of Jesus: the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
Inspire us to perceive the world through your eyes, that we might find hope and joy each day, supportive of each other, for the sake of your Kingdom.
– Author Unknown
It is with deep sadness that we pray for peace and for the people of Ukraine on the anniversary of the beginning of the third year of war.
God who sees the weakness
in acts of naked aggression;
God who feels the fear
in moments of acute helplessness:
cure our warring madness,
and shield all who fall in harm’s way.
Leach the poison from any mind
that thinks strength is shown
in a bullying force.
May an equal strength in solidarity
give resolve to those
whose aim is to protect, and respect,
not just the ones we call our own,
but all with whom we can share
a better, more peaceful world.
Amen.
Corrymeela Community
Light a candle, as a visible sign of the light of Christ, who is the light of the world.
Take a deep breath. Feel the breath of God that has given you life.
Centre yourself and pray…
May God bless us with discomfort,
at easy answers, half-truths
and superficial relationships
so that we may live
deep within our hearts
May God bless us with anger
at injustice, oppression
and exploitation of people
so that we may work for
justice, freedom and peace.
May God bless us with tears
to shed for those who suffer pain,
rejection, hunger and war.
so that we may reach out our hand
and turn their pain to joy.
May God bless us with just enough
foolishness to believe we can
make a difference in the world.
so, we can do what others
claim cannot be done.
– A Franciscan Blessing
Today, our Prayer for Peace is a poem by Daria Chebotariova who is 14
We need to hurry up
We were told the war should end
But it keeps going from day to day.
And we forgot to smile and can’t pretend,
We are surrounded by despair
And we keep waiting for someone to care.
The towns and villages are ruined at their core,
As are our hearts and souls.
We forget that every door
Has its own unique lock.
We still believe in a happy future,
Where we will live in harmony and peace.
We’ll not forget those who have fallen,
That’s why we need to hurry up.
Please read all of the poems from this UNICEF website https://www.voicesofyouth.org/poems-for-peace
Prayer for Peace 11/02/2024
Light a candle, as a visible sign of the light of Christ, who is the light of the world.
Take a deep breath. Feel the breath of God that has given you life.
Centre yourself and pray…
Blessing for Peace
As the fever of day calms towards twilight
May all that is strained in us come to ease.
We pray for all who suffered violence today,
May an unexpected serenity surprise them.
For those who risk their lives each day for peace,
May their hearts glimpse providence at the heart of history.
That those who make riches from violence and war
Might hear in their dreams the cries of the lost.
That we might see through our fear of each other
A new vision to heal our fatal attraction to aggression.
That those who enjoy the privilege of peace
Might not forget their tormented brothers and sisters.
That the wolf might lie down with the lamb,
That our swords be beaten into ploughshares
And no hurt or harm be done
Anywhere along the holy mountain. Amen
by John O’Donohue
Light a candle, as a visible sign of the light of Christ, who is the light of the world.
Take a deep breath. Feel the breath of God that has given you life.
Centre yourself and pray…
Lord, 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 of holding to what we believe to be right.
May we put our trust in the power of 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 men 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 and all men were created.
A prayer from the Catholic Weekly 1978
There Will Be Peace
when attitudes change;
when self-interest is seen as part of common interest;
when old wrongs, old scores, old mistakes
are deleted from the account;
when the aim becomes co-operation and mutual benefit
rather than revenge or seizing maximum personal or group gain;
when justice and equality before the law
become the basis of government;
when basic freedoms exist;
when leaders – political, religious, educational – and the police and media
wholeheartedly embrace the concepts of justice, equality, freedom, tolerance, and reconciliation as a basis for renewal;
when parents teach their children new ways to think about people.
There will be peace:
when enemies become fellow human beings.