Weekly Peace Prayer
prepared for the week of April 23th, 2024
by Sister Caramel Little, CSJP
Constitutions:
With reverence for the blessings of creation,
we use our resources, both individually and collectively,
in a spirit of stewardship.
The spirit of poverty also calls us
to work for a more just society
so that all may be enriched
by a more equitable sharing in the goods of the earth. #56
Reading:
Earth is a revelation of God and the sustainer of all life. We recognize that the exploitation and destruction of Earth’s air, water, soil and species is a sacrilege. We are committed to a spirituality of peacemaking, which compels us to live in right relationship with the entire community of life. In this way “we engage in the struggle against the reality of evil and continue the work of establishing God’s reign of justice and peace.
Acts of the 21st General Chapter
Reading: Laudato Si 233 Pope Francis
The universe unfolds in God, who fills it completely. Hence, there is a mystical meaning to be found in a leaf, in a mountain trail, in a dewdrop, in a poor person’s face. The ideal is not only to pass from the exterior to the interior to discover the action of God in the soul, but also to discover God in all things. Saint Bonaventure teaches us that “contemplation deepens the more we feel the working of God’s grace within our hearts, and the better we learn to encounter God in creatures outside ourselves”.
Prayer:
God of love,
we praise you for the magnificence of creation.
We marvel at both its grandeur
and the intricacies of its smallest microscopic life forms.
As we reflect on the creation, help us to take in its true significance.
This is your work in which you have invested deeply of yourself.
It is the costly outpouring of your creativity.
So, we ask you to instill in us a proper reverence for all that you have made –
a genuine respect for all environments and all creatures.
Creator God, we are in awe of the formidable power of nature,
but, in these times, may we also come to comprehend its complex fragility.
Amen.
Reverend Prebendary Mark Geldard - adapted
Quiet Reflection:
Reading:
Many of us find it difficult to imagine ourselves causing harm in the world. But with no ill will or malicious intent, we may inadvertently cause harm to other people, animals, and nature. Becoming conscious of the effects of our choices can enable us to stop contributing to the damage.
We can begin by becoming aware of everything we buy, eat, drink, wear, and use. We can ask ourselves what we are sending out into the world’s air, water, land, and consciousness. If we don’t know, we can find out. Everything we do has some impact for which we are responsible. We can change our habits to lessen the burden on the earth and to treat other people with compassion. Living as harmlessly as possible, we lessen the total harm done. If enough of us did this, think of the difference it could make.
Veronica Ray, Green Spirituality
Reflection: What small step can you take this week that will lessen the burden on the earth?
Quiet Reflection
Prayer - Peace to Our Earth
May we practice nonviolence toward our lakes, rivers and seas.
May we renew the living waters teeming with life, small and large.
May clean waters quench our deep thirst.
Peace to this earth.
May we practice nonviolence toward the land, the very ground of life;
May we restore the soil so its richness can give us plentiful food.
May we all be nourished by the fruits of the earth.
Peace to this earth.
May we practice nonviolence toward air, sky, clouds.
May we respect these gifts so we can breathe freely in gentle rain.
May the natural world be a safe home for all.
Peace to this earth.
We pray with Pope Francis;
Peace to creation,
Peace to this earth;
which we celebrate with joy and reverence,
Knowing we hold a fragile world in our hands.
Jane Deren l Copyright © 2013, Center
From Care of Creation and Climate Change Core Group
Strengthened by the power of the Risen Christ we go forth in peace to continue the work of love and service. (Constitutions # 33)