First celebrated in 1982, The International Day of Peace is a United Nations-sanctioned observance on September 21, dedicated to world peace,
specifically the absence of war and violence. Here are some prayers and reflections.
On This Day....
Mend a quarrel, Search out a forgotten friend, Dismiss suspicion and replace it with trust, Give a soft answer, Encourage someone,
Manifest your loyalty in a word or deed.
On This Day.... Keep a promise, Find time for someone, Forego a grudge, Forgive an enemy, Listen.
On This Day.... Apologize if you were wrong,
Try to understand, Flout envy, Examine your demands on others, Think first of someone else.
On This Day.... Appreciate, be kind, be gentle, Laugh a little more, Decry complacency, Express your gratitude, Worship God.
On This Day.... Gladden the heart of a child, Take pleasure in the wonder of the earth,
Speak your love, Speak it again, Speak it still again, Speak it still once again....
Author Unknown
For Courage to Do Justice
O Lord, open my eyes that I may see the needs of others. Open my ears that I may hear their cries; Open my heart so that they need not be without succour; Let me not be afraid to defend the weak because of the anger of the strong, Nor afraid to defend the poor
because of the anger of the rich. Show me where love and hope and faith are needed, and use me to bring them to those places. Open my eyes, my ears, my heart, That I may this coming day be able to do some
work of peace for thee.
- Alan Paton, South Africa.
OUR LADY, QUEEN OF PEACE
Holy Mother of God, as you stood beneath the cross of your Son,
We stand with you beneath that same cross,
asking your prayers to join with ours for the people of Ukraine and Russia.
Your heart beats with compassion for them and for all peoples
whose lives are decimated by war, hunger, injustice and poverty.
Pray with us that war may end and peace spread throughout the world.
Pray with us to your Son, the Prince of Peace, that peace will dawn once more.
Through your intercession, may God’s mercy be poured out on the earth
and the gentle rhythm of peace return to mark our days.
Prayer of Pope Francis for Ukraine and Russia - 2022
Lord our God, you sent your only Son to bring peace to our world. Through the intercession of Our Lady, Queen of Peace, hear our earnest prayer; that our times may be tranquil, and we may live in peace as one family, united in love for one another.
Collect for Our Lady, Queen of Peace
Two Peoples, One Land
Two peoples, one land, Three faiths, one root, One earth, one mother, One sky, one beginning,
one future, one destiny, One broken heart, One God.
We pray to You:
Grant us a vision of unity. May we see the many in the one
and the one in the many. May you, Life of All the Worlds,
Source of All Amazing Differences
help us to see clearly. Guide us gently and firmly toward each other,
toward peace. Rabbi Sheila Weinberg: Peace in the Holy Land
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