Contemplative Focus
The Gift of Peace
The call went out one evening, "Does anyone have a peace prayer that we could use for Office as we begin the New Year?"
I rummaged through my breviary and there it was, a 5x7card with a list of mantras, phrases that describe the discipline of peace. The words are printed on dull white card stock in cerulean blue, forest green and black. Sometimes, in moments of despair when the conflicts of our world seem to spiral out of human control I pull out that card and just hold it, a quiet gesture when my own words fail. I don't know who gave me this small placard of hope, sorry that I can't acknowledge the source, however, it reminds me that life is a communal affair, that we mentor one another in hidden ways and are companions towards a life of harmony.
Even when days are apparently bleak and the media readily reminds us of horrendous happenings I am reminded that God indeed has become flesh, partnering with us through the joys and challenges of our lives.
To pray for peace is to open the human heart to the inroads of God's power to renew all things.
John Paul II
World Day of Peace 2002
Maria Viatori, O.C.D.
Cleveland, Carmel
