This lovely poem comes from this month’s Peace and Justice Newsletter of the Secular Franciscan Order.
Prayer for Peace (2003)
O one God of all peoples and nations,
You created the earth and the cosmos,
in their beauty and also in their frailty.
All cultures and religions are on their way to
you,
the origin of all that has been created.
You want all to be for one another not a threat,
but a blessing.
Our one world should be, by your will,
a peaceful home for all.
You chose the Orient to make known to all
your many names.
Abraham is a father in faith for Jews, Muslims,
and Christians.
He listened to your call
in the region between the Euphrates and Tigris,
the present day Iraq.
In a special way, you promised life and future to the old and new People of Israel.
As Christian men and women, we thank you
for our Lord and Brother Jesus Christ.
He is our Peace.
He came to knock down walls and to give to
all, without distinction,
life and a future.
We know ourselves to be in communion with
the Churches of the Orient.
They witness to the Gospel of Jesus,
to the liberating power of his non-violence
and to his Resurrection.
We also pray to you
in unity with all our brothers and sisters of other religions, especially those who have their
origin in the Middle East.
In all of them you instilled the hunger and thirst
for justice and a deep desire for peace.
All are in mourning for the victims of hatred
and violence.
All are called to collaborate in the construction
of a new world.
We, therefore, beseech you:
Have mercy on all the victims and on all the
offenders.
Put an end to the spiral of violence and hatred.
Let all of us, especially those who bear
responsibly,
be ever more convinced that the way to peace
is not that of war and violence,
but of building peace through non-violence and
justice.
Let your peace flow like a river through all our
deserts.
Lord, give us strength and endurance
to pull down the mountains of
misunderstanding,
to fill in the trenches of hatred
and to level the paths towards a more just and a
more peaceful world order.
Let the arms of destruction be laid down soon,
and let the melody of peace and reconciliation
resound throughout your entire creation.
O one God with many names,
make us all instruments of your peace.
(Brother Hermann Schalück, OFM)
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