tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-386163092024-03-13T11:30:34.889-07:00Peace Prayers“In Germany, they first came for the Communists, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Communist.... Then they came for the Jews, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Jew..... Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a trade unionist.... Then they came for the Catholics and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Catholic.... Then they came for me – and by that time there was nobody left to speak up.”..... Martin NiemollerKen Wellshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16715106173750712501noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38616309.post-88317809748752358562007-03-27T18:56:00.000-07:002007-03-27T18:57:12.990-07:00INSTRUMENT OF PEACE<object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/o7yb91CenC8"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/o7yb91CenC8" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object>Ken Wellshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16715106173750712501noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38616309.post-64314036404973354792007-03-01T22:56:00.000-08:002007-03-01T22:59:09.805-08:00Prayers for Peace in the Middle East<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDKKHjmvz3FGVHk3nZFb8JCq6AkjGwlhtU5rffgkxCoZdA6IaZ-CZhnPgA7SPllW1IabIqb3oXk8PsDOF8wLZHemsP3u72Su1JRNXsX62gKfVr_YiDUr-57H7fFHHbMUAq8kmJsg/s1600-h/231811966625.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5037218012037894098" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" height="143" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDKKHjmvz3FGVHk3nZFb8JCq6AkjGwlhtU5rffgkxCoZdA6IaZ-CZhnPgA7SPllW1IabIqb3oXk8PsDOF8wLZHemsP3u72Su1JRNXsX62gKfVr_YiDUr-57H7fFHHbMUAq8kmJsg/s320/231811966625.jpg" width="244" border="0" /></a><br /><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div>From the… </div><div>National Council of Churches USA</div><div><a href="http://www.ncccusa.org/2003peaceprayers.html">http://www.ncccusa.org/2003peaceprayers.html</a></div>Ken Wellshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16715106173750712501noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38616309.post-59414845541763981942007-01-25T12:04:00.000-08:002007-01-25T12:17:48.660-08:00For the Grace to Desire Peace<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinZxSFx_Roz6Sikptxc36pY9tk-976srtyCCZBXnD0Qrghpfz0s1Sowmf9X_-Cr4aj0uM3xErRAqEgusAqNjRnzwmSZs-UgpaR65i8ozpankxm8KZOo9hdt-_J74fiHoTW_AF71g/s1600-h/spirit-flam3.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5024064718864563090" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 162px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 238px" height="263" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinZxSFx_Roz6Sikptxc36pY9tk-976srtyCCZBXnD0Qrghpfz0s1Sowmf9X_-Cr4aj0uM3xErRAqEgusAqNjRnzwmSZs-UgpaR65i8ozpankxm8KZOo9hdt-_J74fiHoTW_AF71g/s320/spirit-flam3.jpg" width="146" border="0" /></a><br /><div><span style="color:#993399;">Great God, who has told us "Vengeance is mine,"save us from ourselves,</span></div><br /><div><span style="color:#993399;">save us from the vengeance in our hearts</span></div><br /><div><span style="color:#993399;">and the acid in our souls.</span></div><br /><div><span style="color:#993399;">Save us from our desire to hurt as we have been hurt,</span></div><br /><div><span style="color:#993399;">to punish as we have been punished,</span></div><br /><div><span style="color:#993399;">to terrorize as we have been terrorized.</span></div><br /><div><span style="color:#993399;">Give us the strength it takes</span></div><br /><div><span style="color:#993399;">to listen rather than to judge,</span></div><br /><div><span style="color:#993399;">to trust rather than to fear,</span></div><br /><div><span style="color:#993399;">to try again and again</span></div><br /><div><span style="color:#993399;">to make peace even when peace eludes us.</span></div><br /><div><span style="color:#993399;">We ask, O God, for the grace to be our best selves.</span></div><br /><div><span style="color:#993399;">We ask for the vision</span></div><br /><div><span style="color:#993399;">to be builders of the human community</span></div><br /><div><span style="color:#993399;">rather than its destroyers.</span></div><br /><div><span style="color:#993399;">We ask for the humility as a people</span></div><br /><div><span style="color:#993399;">to understand the fears and hopes of other peoples.</span></div><br /><div><span style="color:#993399;">We ask for the love it takes</span></div><br /><div><span style="color:#993399;">to bequeath to the children of the world to come</span></div><br /><div><span style="color:#993399;">more than the failures of our own making.</span></div><br /><div><span style="color:#993399;">We ask for the heart it takes</span></div><br /><div><span style="color:#993399;">to care for all the peoples</span></div><br /><div><span style="color:#993399;">of Afghanistan and Iraq, of Palestine and Israel</span> <em><span style="color:#6666cc;">(Lebanon, Darfur,Syria, Iran & those south of our border)</span></em></div><br /><div><span style="color:#993399;">as well as for ourselves.</span></div><br /><div><span style="color:#993399;">Give us the depth of soul, O God,</span></div><br /><div><span style="color:#993399;">to constrain our might,</span></div><br /><div><span style="color:#993399;">to resist the</span></div><br /><div><span style="color:#993399;">temptations of power,</span></div><br /><div><span style="color:#993399;">to refuse to attack the attackable,</span></div><br /><div><span style="color:#993399;">to understand that vengeance begets violence,</span></div><br /><div><span style="color:#993399;">and to bring peace – not war – wherever we go.</span></div><br /><div><span style="color:#993399;">For You, O God, have been merciful to us.</span></div><br /><div><span style="color:#993399;">For You, O God, have been patient with us.</span></div><br /><div><span style="color:#993399;">For You, O God, have been gracious to us.</span></div><br /><div><span style="color:#993399;">And so may we be mercifuland patient and gracious</span></div><br /><div><span style="color:#993399;">and trusting</span></div><br /><div><span style="color:#993399;">with these others who you also love.</span></div><br /><div><span style="color:#993399;"></span></div><br /><div><em><span style="font-size:85%;color:#993399;">Joan D. Chittister, OSB</span></em></div><br /><div><em><span style="font-size:85%;color:#993399;">"Reprinted with permission from Pax Christi USA, </span></em></div><br /><div><a href="http://www.paxchristiusa.org/"><em><span style="font-size:85%;color:#993399;">http://www.paxchristiusa.org/</span></em></a><em><span style="font-size:85%;color:#993399;">"</span></em></div>Ken Wellshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16715106173750712501noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38616309.post-1169087086778035752007-01-17T18:19:00.000-08:002007-01-17T18:27:51.470-08:00~VOW OF NONVIOLENCE~<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/1326/1350/1600/8436/dove5.gif"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/1326/1350/320/975851/dove5.gif" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:85%;color:#6666cc;"><em>I've never been strong enough to take this vow but here it is. Maybe someday I will be, maybe some day we all will be.</em></span><br /><br /><span style="color:#663366;"><strong>~VOW OF NONVIOLENCE~</strong> </span><br /><span style="color:#663366;"></span><br /><span style="color:#663366;">RECOGNIZING THE VIOLENCE IN MY OWN HEART, yet trusting in the goodness and mercy of God, I vow for one year to practice the nonviolence of Jesus who taught us in the Sermon on the Mount: Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons and daughters of God...You have learned how it was said, "You must love your neighbor and hate your enemy"; but I say to you, "Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you. In this way, you will be daughters and sons of your Creator in heaven." Before God the Creator and the Sanctifying Spirit, I vow to carry out in my life the love and example of Jesus by striving for peace within myself and seeking to be a peacemaker in my daily life; by accepting suffering rather than inflicting it; by refusing to retaliate in the face of provocation and violence; by persevering in nonviolence of tongue and heart; by living conscientiously and simply so that I do not deprive others of the means to live; by actively resisting evil and working nonviolently to abolish war and the causes of war from my own heart and from the face of the earth. God, I trust in Your sustaining love and believe that just as You gave me the grace and desire to offer this, so You will also bestow abundant grace to fulfill it.</span><br /><span style="color:#663366;"></span><br /><span style="color:#663366;">After reading and reflecting on the Vow of Nonviolence, people often commit themselves to trying to follow it daily for a year. If a group of people is committing to the vow, a ceremony can be planned. We invite all who take the vow to sign the following commitment statement and return it to us at Pax Christi USA, 532 West 8th Street, Erie, PA 16502 or at </span><a href="mailto:info@paxchristiusa.org"><span style="color:#663366;">info@paxchristiusa.org</span></a><span style="color:#663366;"> I commit myself to living according to the Vow of Nonviolence for a one year period. </span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;color:#663366;">Signature ___________________________________________________________ Name (Print) ________________________________________________________ Street ______________________________________________________________ City __________________________________ State ___________ Zip _________ Date _______________________________________________________________</span><br /><a href="http://www.paxchristiusa.org/"><span style="color:#663366;">http://www.paxchristiusa.org/</span></a>Ken Wellshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16715106173750712501noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38616309.post-1169023710670237112007-01-17T00:44:00.000-08:002007-01-17T10:42:11.476-08:00The Prayer of Saint Francis<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/1326/1350/1600/629012/fran3.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/1326/1350/320/676814/fran3.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color:#6600cc;">"O Lord, make me an instrument of Thy Peace!</span><br /><span style="color:#6600cc;">Where there is hatred, let me sow love;</span><br /><span style="color:#6600cc;">Where there is injury, pardon;</span><br /><span style="color:#6600cc;">Where there is discord, harmony;</span><br /><span style="color:#6600cc;">Where there is doubt, faith;</span><br /><span style="color:#6600cc;">Where there is despair, hope;</span><br /><span style="color:#6600cc;">Where there is darkness, light,</span><br /><span style="color:#6600cc;">and Where there is sorrow, joy.</span><br /><span style="color:#6600cc;">Oh Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek</span><br /><span style="color:#6600cc;">to be consoled as to console;</span><br /><span style="color:#6600cc;">to be understood as to understand;</span><br /><span style="color:#6600cc;">to be loved as to love;</span><br /><span style="color:#6600cc;">for it is in giving that we receive;</span><br /><span style="color:#6600cc;">It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;</span><br /><span style="color:#6600cc;">and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life."</span>Ken Wellshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16715106173750712501noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38616309.post-1169023068345260412007-01-17T00:15:00.000-08:002007-01-17T00:43:04.686-08:00The Universal Prayer<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/1326/1350/1600/390762/angel41.gif"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 177px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 201px" height="201" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/1326/1350/320/563447/angel41.gif" width="178" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color:#cc33cc;">O Lord, we bring before You the distress and dangers of</span><br /><span style="color:#cc33cc;">Peoples and nations, the pleas of the imprisoned and the captive,</span><br /><span style="color:#cc33cc;">the sorrows of the grief-stricken, </span><br /><span style="color:#cc33cc;">the needs of the refugees the</span><br /><span style="color:#cc33cc;">impotence of the weak, </span><br /><span style="color:#cc33cc;">the weariness of the despondent;</span><br /><span style="color:#cc33cc;">and weaknesses of the aging. </span><br /><span style="color:#cc33cc;">O Lord, stay close to all of them.</span><br /><span style="color:#cc33cc;"></span><br /><span style="color:#cc33cc;">O Lord, show Your mercy to us and gladden our hearts. </span><br /><span style="color:#cc33cc;">O Good Samaritan, come to our aid. </span><br /><span style="color:#cc33cc;">We are like the sheep that went astray: </span><br /><span style="color:#cc33cc;">O Good Shepherd, seek us out and bring us home</span><br /><span style="color:#cc33cc;">in accord with Your will. </span><br /><span style="color:#cc33cc;">Let us dwell in Your house all the days</span><br /><span style="color:#cc33cc;">of our lives and praise You for ever and ever with those who are there.</span><br /><span style="color:#cc33cc;"></span><br /><span style="color:#cc33cc;">Lord Jesus Christ, thank you for the friends and relatives</span><br /><span style="color:#cc33cc;">that You have given us to love us in spite of our failures and</span><br /><span style="color:#cc33cc;">weaknesses, and to enrich our lives after Your example. Let us</span><br /><span style="color:#cc33cc;">ever behave toward them as You behaved toward Your friendsand relatives. Bind us close together in You and enable us to help one another on our earthly journey.</span><br /><span style="color:#cc33cc;"></span><br /><span style="color:#cc33cc;">Grant us a knowledge of the Father and of Yourself. </span><br /><span style="color:#cc33cc;">Help us to Cling steadfastly to the Christian faith. In our studies and in our</span><br /><span style="color:#cc33cc;">teaching make us seek only the extension of Your kingdom and</span><br /><span style="color:#cc33cc;">Your holy Church both in ourselves and in others.</span><br /><span style="color:#cc33cc;"></span><br /><span style="color:#cc33cc;">O Lord, send workers for Your harvest, so that the precepts of</span><br /><span style="color:#cc33cc;">Your only-begotten Son may always be obeyed and His sacrifice</span><br /><span style="color:#cc33cc;">be everywhere renewed. Look with favor upon Your family, and</span><br /><span style="color:#cc33cc;">ever increase its numbers. Enable it to lead its sons and daughters to</span><br /><span style="color:#cc33cc;">the holiness to which they are called and to work for the</span><br /><span style="color:#cc33cc;">salvation of others. </span><br /><span style="color:#cc33cc;"></span><br /><span style="color:#cc33cc;">Lord Jesus Christ, watch over those who are leaders in Your Church. Keep them faithful to their vocation and to the proclamation of Your message. Strengthen them with the gifts of the Spirit and help them to serve Your people, especially the poor and lowly. Give them a vivid sense of Your presence in the world and a knowledge of how to show it to others. Lord, watch over Your missionaries—priests, religious, pastors, rabbis, clerics and lay people—who leave everything to give testimony to Your Word and Your love. In difficult moments sustain their energies, comfort their hearts, and crown their work with spiritual achievements. Let Your Cross, which accompanies them throughout life, speak to them of heroism, generosity, love, and peace. </span><br /><span style="color:#cc33cc;"></span><br /><span style="color:#cc33cc;">Sweet Jesus, many indeed have never known You; many, too, Despising Your precepts, have rejected You. Have mercy on them all and draw them to Your Sacred Heart. Be King, O Lord, not only of the faithful, but also of the prodigal children who have abandoned You. Be King of those who are deceived by erroneous opinions, or whom discord keeps aloof, and call them back to You. </span><br /><br /><span style="color:#009900;">Great God, who has told us "Vengeance is mine,"</span><br /><span style="color:#009900;">save us from ourselves,</span><br /><span style="color:#009900;">save us from the vengeance in our hearts</span><br /><span style="color:#009900;">and the acid in our souls.</span><br /><span style="color:#009900;">Save us from our desire to hurt as we have been hurt,</span><br /><span style="color:#009900;">to punish as we have been punished,</span><br /><span style="color:#009900;">to terrorize as we have been terrorized.</span><br /><span style="color:#009900;">Give us the strength it takes</span><br /><span style="color:#009900;">to listen rather than to judge,</span><br /><span style="color:#009900;">to trust rather than to fear,</span><br /><span style="color:#009900;">to try again and again</span><br /><span style="color:#009900;">to make peace even when peace eludes us.</span><br /><span style="color:#009900;">We ask, O God, for the grace to be our best selves.</span><br /><span style="color:#009900;">We ask for the vision</span><br /><span style="color:#009900;">to be builders of the human community</span><br /><span style="color:#009900;">rather than its destroyers.</span><br /><span style="color:#009900;">We ask for the humility as a people</span><br /><span style="color:#009900;">to understand the fears and hopes of other peoples.</span><br /><span style="color:#009900;">We ask for the love it takes</span><br /><span style="color:#009900;">to bequeath to the children of the world to come</span><br /><span style="color:#009900;">more than the failures of our own making.</span><br /><span style="color:#009900;">We ask for the heart it takes</span><br /><span style="color:#009900;">to care for all the peoples</span><br /><span style="color:#009900;">of Afghanistan and Iraq, of Palestine and Israel (Lebanon, Darfur,Syria, Iran & those south of our border)as well as for ourselves.</span><br /><span style="color:#009900;">Give us the depth of soul, O God,</span><br /><span style="color:#009900;">to constrain our might,</span><br /><span style="color:#009900;">to resist the</span><br /><span style="color:#009900;">temptations of power,</span><br /><span style="color:#009900;">to refuse to attack the attackable,</span><br /><span style="color:#009900;">to understand that vengeance begets violence,</span><br /><span style="color:#009900;">and to bring peace – not war – wherever we go.</span><br /><span style="color:#009900;">For You, O God, have been merciful to us.</span><br /><span style="color:#009900;">For You, O God, have been patient with us.</span><br /><span style="color:#009900;">For You, O God, have been gracious to us.</span><br /><span style="color:#009900;">And so may we be merciful</span><br /><span style="color:#009900;">and patient and gracious</span><br /><span style="color:#009900;">and trustingwith these others who you also love.</span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><em><span style="color:#009900;">Joan D. Chittister, OSB"Reprinted with permission from Pax Christi USA, www.paxchristiusa.org</span>"</em></span><br /><br /><span style="color:#cc33cc;">Grant, O Lord, to Your Church assurance of freedom and</span><br /><span style="color:#cc33cc;">Immunity from harm; give tranquility of order to all nations; </span><br /><span style="color:#cc33cc;">makethe earth resound from pole to pole with one cry: </span><br /><span style="color:#cc33cc;">Praise to the divine Heart that wrought our salvation; </span><br /><span style="color:#cc33cc;">to it be glory and honor for ever.</span><br /><span style="color:#cc33cc;">Dear God we know You love us. We accept whatever You decide.</span><br /><span style="color:#cc33cc;">We leave everything up to Your divine goodness and loving care.</span><br /><span style="color:#cc33cc;">You are our God.</span><br /><span style="color:#cc33cc;">Thank you for everything. </span><br /><span style="color:#cc33cc;">Amen.</span><br /><span style="color:#cc33cc;"></span><br /><span style="color:#cc33cc;">God bless the whole world—no exceptions</span>Ken Wellshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16715106173750712501noreply@blogger.com0