Painting- Yahon Wang, age 17
Pope Francis’ Prayer for Peace
Lord God of peace, hear our prayer!
We have tried so many times and over
so many years to resolve our conflicts by our own powers and by the force of
our arms. How many moments of hostility and darkness have we experienced; how
much blood has been shed; how many lives have been shattered; how many hopes
have been buried… But our efforts have been in vain.
Now, Lord, come to our aid! Grant us
peace, teach us peace; guide our steps in the way of peace. Open our eyes and
our hearts, and give us the courage to say: "Never again war!";
"With war everything is lost". Instill in our hearts the courage to
take concrete steps to achieve peace.
Lord, God of Abraham, God of the
Prophets, God of Love, you created us and you call us to live as brothers and
sisters. Give us the strength daily to be instruments of peace; enable us to
see everyone who crosses our path as our brother or sister. Make us sensitive
to the plea of our citizens who entreat us to turn our weapons of war into
implements of peace, our trepidation into confident trust, and our quarreling
into forgiveness.
Keep alive within us the flame of
hope, so that with patience and perseverance we may opt for dialogue and
reconciliation. In this way may peace triumph at last, and may the words
"division", "hatred" and "war" be banished from
the heart of every man and woman. Lord, defuse the violence of our tongues and our
hands. Renew our hearts and minds, so that the word which always brings us
together will be "brother", and our way of life will always be that
of: Shalom, Peace, Salaam!
Amen.
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