Prayer of hope for peace globally understood
Dear Katie, Claire and Andy,
Will you take a long walk with your Grampa? I hope so. Let’s go!
I call it a “journey of peace.” It will last for a “year of 13 letters.” I want you to walk with me through the “13 steps” of the Prayer of Peace that is credited to St. Francis. (Actually the prayer was likely written by a French priest about 1912, while St. Francis lived in the 1200’s. But that’s a story for another time.)
It is now a world-famous prayer, but you may not yet know it. So here is the version we usually say: “Lord, make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; and where there is sadness, joy. O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.”
I will share a few alternative versions of this beautiful prayer in the next letters I write you. One is used in Alcoholics Anonymous. Another was shared by Mother Teresa in 1985 when she spoke at the United Nations Assembly. A third is a beautiful musical version of the peace prayer.
Do you remember one of the titles used in the Gospels to describe Jesus? “Prince of Peace.” As God’s Son, he brought a very different vision of “peace” to the world than people in his time were used to seeing. My letters to you will describe that vision as we walk through the Prayer of Peace.
But kids, American Christians are not the only people who seek peace in our lives and in the world. At least 145 countries say “peace” in their own ways. We are wise to learn what those ways are, so we can work together to make peace more real in our lifetimes.
When we learn to appreciate our religious differences, we find that all of us use different words to seek the same thing. For example, Jews say “shalom.” Muslims say “salaam.” Each word points toward healing and wholeness in our personal lives, and how we live together as communities.
Just before Christmas, a “Dennis the Menace” cartoon caught my attention. Dennis is standing before Santa. Other children are behind Dennis. With hands open, Dennis pleads with Santa, “But if ALL the kids were good, there wouldn’t be enough toys to go around.”
Kids, as cute as Dennis is, he’s missed the real Christmas message. It isn’t about giving away a limited number of presents to people who are “good.” Christmas is God’s offering of unlimited love to people who need to be loved. All of us!
God became a human being (Jesus) to show us just how unconditional God’s vision is that all persons will live healthy and safe lives. This means our family, but it also means all families around the world – regardless of their religious tradition, or even if they have no religious tradition.
“Peace” is our word that reminds us of Jesus’ mission to bring healing and wholeness to the world. St. Francis’ Prayer of Peace is a wonderful reminder, too. I’ll tell you more about it next month.
Peace, Shalom, Salaam,
Grampa.