Shining Light into the Darkness
A novena is nine days of focused prayer. This Novena of Peace focuses on praying for peace in our hearts, peace in our lives, peace in our world.
This year’s Novena for Peace is a little later than last year because I had the privilege of being with my parents for most of the month of December to assist with my mom’s recuperation. She’d taken a nasty fall this past autumn and my sisters and I took turns going to Florida to help …
The Servant’s Way Isn’t Easy The servant’s way is a challenging paradox; if it were easy, everyone would be following it. St. Francis understood the paradox of the servant’s way. Jesus mastered it. And teachers and prophets from many traditions teach the same paradox contained in the final words of the Prayer of St. Francis: For …
The Way of Peace Is the Servant’s Way The essence of St. Francis’ teaching in the prayer that bears his name is that we must walk the Servant’s Way to become instruments of peace. This Servant’s Way presumes that we already properly love ourselves because we have recognized that not only are we children of …
Where there is sadness, let me sow joy We cannot, nor should we, deny that sadness exists in the world. In any life, sadness will come to visit. But life itself is such a miraculous gift that even in distressing or dire circumstance, joy is possible. Sometimes, though, we need someone to remind us. Other times we need …
Where there is darkness, let me sow light Darkness is threatening. Darkness—whether physical, psychological, spiritual, emotional, or social—disturbs and perturbs us, sometimes to our very core. But just like a single candle pierces the darkness of the night, a single person can pierce the darkness in our world. Just look at Malala Yousafzai, the young …
Where there is despair, hope Despair is such a dark and lonely place. It can be so emotionally powerful that it blocks out all light, all rational thought to find a way out. Despair may be the most challenging, most arduous element to tackle among all the opportunities to sow God’s peace. Because of its emotional power, …
Where there is doubt, faith Existential doubts about whether there is God or whether we’re loveable or capable or worthy cause untold suffering. Since childhood, I’ve been graced with the gift of faith in God. It was faith in myself that was my struggle; not in everything but in enough to give me compassion for …
Where there is injury, pardon. I heard one of the most radical ideas about pardoning from Abbot David Geraets, a Benedictine monk who was my teacher at a school for spiritual directors. During a lesson about Healing the Family Tree he said that we must ask forgiveness from family members who have injured us because …
Where there is hatred, let me sow love Hatred is such a strong word. We can easily identify hatred out there but rarely do we sense it in here, in our own hearts. Yet hatred doesn’t spring forth whole in its easily identifiable ugly ways. It begins as small frustrations, angers, and resentments that are held, …
Make me an instrument of peace When we think of the word instrument we often think of a musical object or a voice that uses vibration to create sounds. Sound vibrations range from pianississimo (very very soft) to fortississimo (very very loud); they can be staccato (short detached notes) or legato (flowing smoothly). Sound vibrations can also be dissonant or harmonic, …