May these words of St. Francis (in italics), written so long ago, prayed on so many hearts and lips, from places of longing and agony, from places of peace seeking more peace, guide our prayers:
Lord, make us instruments of your peace:
In all countries with armed conflict.
Palestine and Israel, Ukraine and Russia, many countries in Africa, India, Afghanistan, Myanmar, Pakistan, Philippines, Mexico, and Colombia.
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
in India, where Parliament is voting on a citizenship law that excludes Muslims.
where there is injury, pardon;
For the visible and invisible injuries of trauma for still captured and just free Israeli hostages. For the starving people of Gaza awaiting aid.
where there is doubt, faith;
For the hopeful, as Japan courts say a same-sex marriage ban is illegal.
where there is despair, hope;
For the hundreds of young tech victims rescued from the Philippines “love scam” center where they were forced into running illegal operations online.
where there is darkness, light;
For the grieving in Australia’s gold mine collapse. For the people of Haiti as gang violence sweeps through the capital city.
where there is sadness, joy.
For people like Ibrahim Abu Hani, baker and co-owner of Bartool Cakes, a family business in Rafah in the Gaza Strip, that is making cakes for people living in tents.
For the many worldwide, daily, creatively working for peace, love, pardon, faith, hope, and joy. We thank you, God, for how you work in and through us.
O divine Master, grant that we 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.
Amen, may it be so.