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Novena for Peace Prayers & Reflection Questions The ritual for any prayer discipline can be as elaborate or as simple as is comfortable for you. Below are suggestions for the Novena for Peace. STEP 1: In preparation for your time of meditation and prayer, find a quiet place where you can sit or recline comfortably. … Read more
I first posted this on October 2, 2013. It seems relevant again. The first reaction to truth is hatred – Tertullian One of the most difficult things in life is to stand up for truth as you know it. Nothing will bring down public scorn as readily as believing something that is different from what the … Read more
2017 Peace Novena Day 9 Let us pray for our nation, ourselves, and for our new leaders taking office today. May we practice compassionate listening, merciful justice, and a true embrace of unity of purpose. Divided We Fall Today we inaugurate the 45th President of the United States. And so let us pray for him … Read more
Day 8: Discernment Versus Judgment On this second-to-last day of prayer, I pray that we – and all our elected officials – can begin to listen to one another with discernment and hope; and that bitterness is overwhelmed by compassion. Listening with discernment rather than judgment is one of the greatest gifts we can give … Read more
Choose What Matters I pray that as we enter day 7 of the 2017 Peace Novena, we are able to concentrate on what matters most, focusing our attention on what is within our power to choose and letting go of that which matters least (and is often beyond our control anyway). (If you don’t have … Read more
Echoes of Dr. King at Standing Rock I pray that we can recognize the power of collective peaceful persistent prayer to achieve what appear to be impossible ends. (If you don’t have time for prayer AND reading this post, please choose prayer. Novena rituals and prayer) Non-Violent Icons Show Us the Way Dr. Martin Luther King, … Read more
Perception Is Reality I pray that we are able to recognize that our belief or truth is only part of the whole truth and that those who ascribe to a different belief or truth also have part of that whole. In this recognition, may we be gentle with those who disagree with us, embracing their … Read more
Day 4: Count your blessings in this moment, now. I pray that we all have the awareness to be grateful for what is; that we can stay in the present moment with pure hope for future blessings as we count the blessings we currently enjoy. (If you don’t have time for prayer AND reading this post, … Read more
Entering day 3 of the 2017 Peace Novena, I pray that we all embrace our personal power to become instruments of peace in our troubled world. (If you don’t have time for prayer AND reading this post, please choose prayer. Novena rituals and prayer) Make me an instrument of peace The prayer commonly known as the Prayer … Read more
As we enter day 2 of the 2017 Peace Novena, I pray that we all find ways to be kind and to listen with an open heart. (If you don’t have time for prayer and reading this post, choose prayer. Novena rituals and prayer) Suffering Is a Choice Many people are real pain as a … Read more