Loving God,
You have created a wonderful world for us.
Help us to know how to live from your generosity
and how to integrate our life in harmony and peace.
Take our life and allow us to live this day serenely.
Open our minds to positive thinking.
Take away from us any bad feelings.
Free us from grudges and resentment.
Make us capable of feeling joy, love and compassion.
Help us to accept things as they are,
to accomplish our daily tasks,
to give freedom with love.
Give us the peace that the peoples in the world need,
the one that the world cannot give,
and help us to build that peace as a fruit of Justice and Truth.
We confide our request to Mother Mary,
that You please send us your Holy Spirit,
to reconcile hearts and peoples.
That the Kingdom of Love may come to us,
to confirm that you are present among us,
until the end of times. Amen.
Holy Babe of Bethlehem,
Beacon of love and peace,
Be born in us anew,
Bring thy peace,
That the shepherds proclaim;
The kings implore,
Enkindle our weary hearts,
With thy everlasting love,
At the morning gleam,
Twinkles on the dew drops.
To be a leading star that leads,
The abandoned to peace and harmony,
When defeat creep in,
To steal our soul’s serenity,
When we are caught in,
Throbbing darkness and despair,
May your spark of peace,
Make others see your glory,
Sovereign ruler, Prince of Peace,
Reign in our heart forever.
Amen
Oh God, lead us from the unreal to the Real. Oh God, lead us from darkness to light. Oh God, lead us from death to immortality. Oh Lord God almighty, may there be peace in celestial regions. May there be peace on earth. May the waters be appeasing. May herbs be wholesome, and may trees and plants bring peace to all. May all beneficent beings bring peace to us. May the God of hope fill us with all joy and peace as we trust in him, so that we may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
A Plea for Peace
Almighty Breath of Life!
There is so much discord in the world.
The wars that rage on this earth fill us with fear. We feel helpless in the face of this cruelty. Please send the power of your peace into the hearts of all those involved in the fighting. Help us overcome hatred and violence and give us the courage for reconciliation. Please help the injured and the families of those killed in the wars. Give them the strength they need at this time to deal with the loss of their loved ones. Gift them with people who will be there for them and listen to them in their grief. Let your kingdom of heaven descend upon us in the midst of all the suffering and give us more peace. Amen
(by Olaf Jan Schmidt-Wischhöfer)
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God, give us a pure heart that understands what peace means.
Let us comprehend what your peace is.
Only then will we be able to be peacemakers in our world.
Give us your grace, so that we will not be defeated by inaction, indifference or fear.
Let us be wide awake and take a stand for peace.
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Lord, make me an advocate of all those who are discriminated and excluded.
Where people are discriminated because of their race,
Let me advocate for fraternity;
Where people are disadvantaged or persecuted because of their religion,
Let me advocate for religious freedom;
Where people are discriminated because of their sexual orientation or gender identity,
Let me advocate for equality and their dignity;
Where people are treated as slaves,
Let me advocate for their freedom;
Where people are migrating and seeking refuge,
Let me advocate for their protection and security;
Where people are evicted from their land and home,
Let me advocate for compensation;
Where people exploit the resources of the earth for their private interest,
Let me advocate for justice and solidarity;
Where our mother Earth is damaged and polluted,
Let me advocate for the protection and respect of Creation,
Where peoples and nations fight against each other,
Let me advocate for Peace and Reconciliation.
Because it is You, who is present in our Sisters and Brothers.
It is you, who gave us an inalienable dignity as your creatures.
Together with Jesus our Lord and Brother we pray to you:
Your Kingdom come, your will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven.
Markus Heinze, OFM
U.S. Province
Pope Francis’ Prayer for Peace
Lord God of peace, hear our prayer!
We ha
ve 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.