By Reverend Frankie Timmers
When we think of peace, we usually think of it in relationship to the world and its people. We think of it as the opposite of war and violence. We relate it mostly to the collective and often prescribe it for others. Peace also however, begins with me, it begins with the one and spreads to the many. So, in our spiritual life, we can set a daily intention to be peaceful, to be an instrument of peace.
That can seem overwhelming if we live in a place that is at war. This can be a real war, like for our brothers and sisters in Middle east and Africa or it can be so for those who live in areas where there is extreme violence due to terror in the home and community. It can also be more subtle when it shows up in our workplace. And then the most subtle is when we feel a war inside ourselves.
The Prayer of Saint Francis
Lord, make me an instrument of Thy peace;
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where 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.
O Divine Master,
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 that we are born to Eternal Life.