Weekly Peace Prayer

for February 3, 2026
prepared by
Sister Carmel Little, CSJP

Constitutions:
Personal prayer deepens our desire
to be united with God in faith,
enabling us to see God’s presence and action
in our lives and in the world. 
We commit ourselves to daily personal prayer.  #29                      

Reading:        1 Corinthians 13     
Love is patient; Love is kind.
Love is not jealous; Love does not put on airs.
Love is not rude; Love is not self-seeking
Love is not prone to anger; Love rejoices in the truth.
Love bears all things, believes all things,
Hopes all things, endures all things.
Faith, hope and love abide:
and the greatest of these is Love.

Prayer:           Teach me, O Lord, your way
That I may walk in your truth.
Direct my heart that it may fear your name.

I will give thanks to you, O God,
With all my heart,
And I will glorify your name forever.

Great has been your kindness towards me;
You have rescued me from the
depths of the nether world.

Teach me your ways, O Lord,
That I may walk in your peace.         
Psalm 86

Quiet Reflection

Reading: 
Mercy is the heart of God. It must also be the heart of the members of the one great family of his children: a heart which beats all the more strongly wherever human dignity – as a reflection of the face of God in his creatures – is in play. Jesus tells us that love for others – foreigners, the sick, prisoners, the homeless, even our enemies – is the yardstick by which God will judge our actions.  . . .
We too, then, are called to make compassion, love, mercy and solidarity a true way of life, a rule of conduct in ourrelationships with one another. This requires the conversion of our hearts: the grace of God has to turn our hearts of stone into hearts of flesh
(cf. Ezek 36:26), open to others in authentic solidarity. For solidarity is much more than a “feeling of vague compassion or shallow distress at the misfortunes of so many people, both near and far”. Solidarity is “a firm and persevering determination to commit oneself to the common good; that is to say to the good of all and of each individual, because we are all really responsible for all”, because compassion flows from fraternity.
Pope Francis – World Day of Peace 2016

Prayer:           Let the rain come and wash away the ancient grudges,
the bitter hatreds held and nurtured over generations.
Let the rain wash away the memory of the hurt, the neglect.
Then let the sun come out and fill the sky with rainbows.
Let the warmth of the sun heal us wherever we are broken.
Let it burn away the fog so that we can see each other clearly.
So that we can see beyond labels, beyond accents, gender or skin color.
Let the warmth and brightness of the sun melt our selfishness.
So that we can share the joys and feel the sorrows of our neighbors.
And let the light of the sun be so strong that we will see all
people as our neighbors.
Let the earth, nourished by rain, bring forth flowers to surround us with beauty.
And let the mountains teach our hearts to reach upward to heaven.
Amen.  
a prayer for the world - rabbi harold kushner - 2003

Quiet Refection
We pray a Litany of Peace

THE TIME IS NOW -
That the Church will be an instrument of your justice in the world.     
                                   Give peace in our time, O God.

THE TIME IS NOW -
That the United Nations will work for a world of peace for all.
                                   Give peace in our time, O God.

THE TIME IS NOW -
That all who in any way work to further the cause of peace and goodwill;
Pax Christi, Fellowship of Reconciliation, Pace e Bene, Amnesty International, and all people who work for peace will find support and encouragement in their work.                                                   Give peace in our time, O God.

THE TIME IS NOW - 
That ordinary people in every land will work and pray for a world of peace;       
                                   Give peace in our time, O God.

THE TIME IS NOW -
When we stand with the people of Minneapolis in saying NO to the injustice in their city.                                    Give peace in our time, O God.

Compassionate God:
THE TIME IS NOW -
Hurry the day when all people shall live together in your love, in your compassion, in your peace. In Jesus’ name we pray.  Amen.

Blessing:      May God of peace bless us and  hold us in love as
                      we work to bring about a world of justice and peace.

Poem for Alex Pretti
Murdered by I.C.E. on January 24,2026
by Amanda Gorman

We wake with
no words, just woe
and wound. Our own country shooting
us in the back is not just brutality;
it’s jarring betrayal; not enforcement,
but execution.  A message: Love your people and you
will die.  Yet our greatest threat isn’t the outsiders
among us, but those among us who never look
within.  Fear not those without papers, but those
without conscience.  Know that to care intensively,
united, is to carry both pain-dark horror for today
and a profound, daring home for tomorrow.  We can feel
we have nothing to give, and still belove this world waiting,
trembling to change.  If we cannot find words, may
we find the will; if we ever lose hope, may we never lose our
humanity.  The only undying thing is mercy, the courage to open
ourselves like doors, hug our neighbor,
and save one more bright, impossible life.

.