Saturday of the Second Week of Advent
The Light of Peace
Prayer for Peace
Loving God,
During this season when many people, whether they are Christian or not,
act out of good will towards others, our thoughts and prayers turn to peace.
We long for the day when “swords” are turned “into plowshares,” and “spears into pruning hooks.”
We yearn for the fulfillment of Your prophet Isaiah’s words:
“For every boot that tramped in battle, every cloak rolled in blood, will be burned as fuel for fire.”
As we await the coming of the Prince of Peace, fill our hearts with Your Peace,
and give us the strength to make peace in Your beloved world.
We ask this in Jesus’ name. Amen.
-Father Phil Paxton, CP
Peace is a gift of God, but requires our efforts.
Let us be people of peace in prayer and deed.
-Pope Francis
Scripture:
Sirach 48:1-4, 9-11
Matthew 17:9a, 10-13
Reflection:
Father Nicholas Divine, CP, serves on the Ministry Team at Holy Name Passionist Retreat Center in Houston, Texas.
The Peace of Wild Things
-Wendell Berry
When despair grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting for their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.