Violence versus Peace: A Global Struggle
It may seem that the world is becoming more unstable, more violent, less compassionate, and less forgiving. In many parts of the world, and for many people, that is true. Death and destruction—both the real and imagined as entertainment—gets an awful lot of media attention, which adds to the zeitgeist of fear, hatred, and mistrust that permeates society.
But over this last decade or so, I have also noticed the rising up of people who refuse to engage in that fear, who seek to be One with the earth and each other, and who truly desire to be the face-hands-heart of a loving Creator.
There are wisdom voices, prophets of love. There are movements to create Heaven-on-Earth, to find ways to heal the planet, to connect us more deeply to our Source and to each other.
Many of these voices and movements operate outside traditional religious institutions and they are uniting people who don’t resonate with traditional religions yet who still have a deep yearning to find meaning, community, and their Sacred Source.
Each of us has a say in which side will win this struggle for the very soul of humanity.
An Invitation to Become Peace
Whether you fit into those who follow traditional or non-traditional religions, I ask you to join me in the 2015 Novena for peace. We who desire peace can, once again, gather as a community with the focused intention of creating the peace we seek through a Novena—nine days of focused reflection and prayer/intention. This Novena is my yearly tradition and occurs within the Christmas season that, at its inception, heralded “Peace on earth; good will toward all.”
Whether you believe that Jesus was Divinity-made-flesh, or simply a great prophet, his message of Love remains a potent beacon in our troubled times. That we celebrate this Love as the new year dawns provides the perfect opportunity to reflect on our lives and actions over the past year so that we may intentionally choose the kind of peace that will overflow from us to spread into the world.
Communal Prayer as a Pathway to Peace
When we engage as a community in prayer, we are reminded that we are not the separate individual souls we appear to be; we are simply different bits of the Oneness of all creation.
In a communal Novena, we connect our individual souls to the Oneness of all beings—and to Oneness of Divine Source. This simultaneously feeds all our spirits as it magnifies spiritual gifts like peace.
Many of us ask God to provide peace for us. But I personally think God expects us to co-create the peace we desire; this Novena for Peace is an attempt to do that. Since thoughts precede action, becoming aware of how our thoughts amplify peace or violence is a useful endeavor.
Will You Spend Ten Minutes a Day for Nine Days to Birth More Peace?
Praying the novena for peace will take about ten minutes a day. And depending on when you choose to engage in it, it will prepare you for a more peaceful day ahead or for a good night’s sleep.
The Novena will begin on December 23rd and end on December 31st just before 2016 dawns. The ritual basics and questions for reflection to help you focus on your thoughts or actions that create or disturb peace are in the post Novena for Peace 2015 Prayers & Questions for Meditation & Reflection. Feel free to adjust the prayers and questions to suit your religious tradition, need, or comfort.
Each morning I will post a short quote, reading, or personal reflection to go with the ritual using the theme of mercy as a pathway to peace—in recognition of Pope Francis’ Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy.
So that’s it. Take what works for you, let go of the rest. Invite others.
My hope is these few moments of focused intention, quiet reflection, reading, or prayer will enable each of us to plant within us another peace-filled seed that will germinate and grow as 2016 draws us forward. As that seed blooms with compassion, mercy, and forgiveness then peace will flow out of us and into the world as we become the peace we seek.
Perhaps then we can finally tip the balance toward peace in our global struggle.