PEACE

Saint Francis'  Prayer

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace;
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
when 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.
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 [to ourselves] that we are born to eternal life.

Song by John Michael Talbot

May God banish from our hearts whatever might endanger peace.
May God transform us into witnesses of truth, justice and love.
May God enlighten the rulers of peoples
so that in addition to their solicitude for the proper welfare of their citizens,
they may guarantee and defend the great gift of peace.
May God enkindle the will of all,
so that they may overcome the barriers that divide,
cherish the bonds of mutual charity, understand others,
and pardon those who have done them wrong.
May all peoples of the earth become as one,
and may the most longed-for peace blossom forth
and reign always among them.

Pope John XXIII Pacem in Terris