A Day for Prayer, Healing, and Peace . . .

Dancing Francis - Viterbo University Campus - La Crosse, WI

A Franciscan Prayer for Peace

Lord, make us instruments of your Peace

In a world all too prone to violence and revenge,

We commit ourselves to the Gospel Values of

Mercy, Justice, Compassion, and Love;

We will seek daily to promote forgiveness and healing

in our hearts, our families, and our world.

Where there is hatred, let us sow Love;

Where there is injury, let us cultivate Peace

Fear and distance prevent people from recognizing all

as brothers and sisters;

tensions lead to violence and mistrust;

We will strive to honor the dignity that God places

in each and every human person.

Grant that we may not seek to be understood as to Understand;

To be loved as to Love

Our failure to understand the other can create exclusion

in all its negative forms –

racism, marginalization of those who are poor, sick, the immigrant;

it can also create situations of domination, occupation, oppression and war.

We pledge to seek the way of solidarity,

to create hearts, homes, and communities

where all people will experience inclusion, hospitality, and understanding.

For it is in giving that we receive, in pardoning that we are pardoned

And in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.



Let us Pray:

Lord God, create in us:

-the Capacity to hear and understand the voices of those who suffer from

every form of violence, injustice, and dehumanization;

-the Openness to receive and honor people from other cultures, languages,

religious traditions, and geographical regions;

-the Creativity to explore new ways of communication and dialogue through

music, poetry, performing arts, and the mass media;

-the Audacity to undertake the building of communities of forgiveness, healing,

and reconciliation.

To God who is above all and in all are the glory and the honor. Amen

 

(Previously posted by Chuck Faso OFM

Author unknown)