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Commission for Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation
USG/UISG Secretariat
Via Aurelia 476, 00165, Rome, Italy.
Email: jpicusguisg@lasalle.org /www.jpicformation.wikispaces.com

SEPTEMBER 21, 2011
INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PEACE PRAYER
INTRODUCTION

On September 21, 2011, a variety of groups, organizations and people worldwide
will host and attend International Day of Peace. In 2002, the U.N. General
Assembly officially declared September 21 as the permanent date for the
International Day of Peace. It was suggested that:
"Peace Day should be devoted to commemorating and strengthening the
ideals of peace both within and among all nations and peoples…This day
will serve as a reminder to all peoples that our organization, with all its
limitations, is a living instrument in the service of peace and should serve all
of us here within the organization as a constantly pealing bell reminding us
that our permanent commitment, above all interests or differences of any
kind, is to peace.’’

Since its inception, Peace Day has marked our personal and planetary progress
toward peace. It has grown to include millions of people in all parts of the world,
and each year events are organized to commemorate and celebrate this day.
Events range in scale from private gatherings to public concerts and forums
where hundreds of thousands of people participate.

Anyone, anywhere can celebrate Peace Day. It can be as simple as lighting a
candle at noon, or just sitting in silent meditation. Or, it can involve getting your
co-workers, organization, community or government engaged in a large event. If
millions of people in all parts of the world come together for one day of peace,
the impact will be immense.

JPIC/USG/UISG invites all of us to be part of this action for peace in a prayerful
way. This prayer material was prepared to be used by your communities, houses,
groups, parishes and dioceses.

International Day of Peace is also a Day of Ceasefire – personal or political. Take
this opportunity to make peace in your own relationships as to impact the larger
conflicts of our time. Imagine what a whole Day of Ceasefire would mean to
humankind.

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Entrance Song for Liturgy - Please find an appropriate song for your group and
situation
Examples: Peace is Flowing Like a River; Peace I Leave with You; Lord Make Me an
Instrument of Your Peace

Silence (Ring a bell or a gong..)

Let us contemplate the reality of today’s world and listen to Jesus
1. Military spending

In 2009, global military expenditure rose to $1536 billion. This enormous amount
tops a decade of continuous growth of military budgets around the world: since
2000, military spending increased by 49% to an all time high in 2009. In 2010, the
amount rose to US$1630 Billion. US$30 billion could solve the problem of hunger in
the world. This amount is equivalent to one week budget of military spending. And
yet the world spends this enormous amount of its resources to kill, to maim, to
destroy, and to eliminate human beings with the justification that they are the
enemies.

The prayer that Jesus taught is a prayer for peace. The prayer is about becoming
the presence of God in our unique ways and about how we reach out to others. It
is about having the heart, mind and soul of God because God dwells within each
one of us as an indwelling presence.

Our Father who art in heaven:
Creator Mother and Father God, the whole of creation praises You. The blue sky
lauds You. The distant hills praise You, together with the sweet-smelling air that is
full of brilliant light. I, too, praise You, Creator Mother and Father, with all the
brothers and sisters. We are all one silence, and a diversity of voices. You have
made us together, You have made us one and many, You have placed me here
in the midst as witness, as awareness, and as joy and peace. Here I am.
Our Father who art in heaven.

Silence (Ring a bell…)

2. Nuclear weapons

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60 years after Hiroshima/Nagasaki, there are more than 19,000 nuclear weapons
in the world.
Thousands can be launched within moments. Physicians for Social Responsibility
did a simulated attack on 3 sites with 2 nuclear bombs. 2.8 million can be killed
within the first 24 hours, 5 million in the next 2 weeks; untold numbers over the
years.

Hallowed be your name:
Wherever I am, You my Lord are loved and praised. The trees indeed love You
without knowing You. Without being aware of Your presence, the tiger lilies and
cornflowers proclaim that they love You. The beautiful dark clouds ride slowly
across the sky musing on You. In the midst of them all, I know You and I know of
Your Presence. In the midst of these things that have never offended You, I am
loved by You. I am seen by You under the sky. Hallowed be Your name.

Silence (Ring a bell...)

3. Small weapons

The vast majority of today’s wars are started and fought with small arms and light
weaponry. Cheap, portable, easy to use, and widely available, small arms are
responsible for 90 percent of conflict-related deaths since World War II. Small arms
include hand guns, pistols, sub-machine guns, mortars, landmines, grenades and
light missiles. Every year 8 million small arms and 12 billion bullets are produced in
the world. 2,000 people are killed everyday. There are approximately half a billion
military small arms around the world. They are the major cause of civilian
casualties in modern conflicts.

Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Sophia is a gift, is Spirit, Donum Dei. She is God-given, God as Gift.Hagia Sophia in
all things is the Divine Life reflected in them. Sophia is God’s sharing God’s self with
creatures, God ‘s outpouring, and the love by which God is given and known,
held and loved. Sophia is life as communion, life as thanksgiving, life as praise.
Make us aware of Her presence in us. Let us hear Her voice in us.
Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on Earth as it is in heaven.

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4. Hunger in the world

At present, there are 925 million people in the world who do not eat enough to
be healthy. That means one in every seven people on Earth goes to bed
hungry each night. Hunger is number one on the list of the world’s top 10
health risks. It kills more people every year than AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis
combined. A third of all deaths in children under the age of five in developing
countries are linked to under-nutrition. It costs just US $0.25 per day to provide
a child with all of the vitamins and nutrients he or she needs to grow up
healthy. By 2050, climate change and erratic weather patterns will have
pushed another 24 million children into hunger. Almost half of these children
will live in sub-Saharan Africa.

Reading Mt. 25: 36-40
For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a
stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for
me, in prison and you visited me.'
Then the righteous will answer him and say, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry
and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you a stranger and
welcome you, or naked and clothe you? When did we see you ill or in prison, and
visit you?' And the king will say to them in reply, 'Amen, I say to you, whatever you
did for one of these least brothers [sisters] of mine, you did for me.'

Common prayer:
Name people, communities, groups that suffer from hunger and poverty. After
each name, repeat:
Give us this day our daily bread.

Song: Ubi Caritas.

5. Violence against women

Violence against women is a human rights scandal. At least one out of every
three women has been beaten, coerced into sex, or otherwise abused in her
lifetime. In Europe, domestic violence is the leading cause of death and disability
for women aged 16 to 44.In the United States, a woman is raped every 6 minutes;

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a woman is battered every 15 seconds. Rape of women is widespread in armed
conflicts such as Colombia and Darfur.
Trafficking of women has become a global phenomenon where victims are
sexually exploited, forced into labor and subjected to abuse. Murders of women in
Guatemala, Russia, India, and other countries often go uninvestigated and
unpunished.
The experience or threat of violence affects the lives of women everywhere,
cutting across boundaries of wealth, race and culture. In the home and in the
community, in times of war and peace, women are beaten, raped, mutilated,
and killed with impunity.

And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive thosewho trespass against us.
Spirit of God, you hold us in Your embrace.
Your presence burns through this world, transforming it.
You hold us in Your embrace.
You call us to see and confront the mystery of evil.
You call us to live the astonishing mystery of good in the face of the mystery of
evil.
Be with us as we experiment with your nonviolence.
Give us the strength to break the rules of war, to move from the war zone to the
house of love.
We are grateful for You and for each other.


Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.


6. Deliver us from evil
Let us look at the reality of today’s world. The world is divided and wounded as we
witness numerous manifestations of hatred, denial, refusal and disregard at many

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different levels of the reality. There are wars, conflicts, discrimination,
marginalization and segregation that would not allow people to live fully as
human beings. As we look at this painful reality carefully, we become aware of
our own reality which is also hurt and wounded. When we pray touching our
reality that needs to be healed, we discover our commitment to work for a non-
violence of Jesus, to enable peace in this world.

Reading John 15:10-17
As the Father loves me, so I also love you. Remain in my love. If you keep my
commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father's
commandments and remain in his love. "I have told you this so that my joy may be
in you and your joy may be complete. This is my commandment: love one
another as I love you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for
one's friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. I no longer call
you slaves, because a slave does not know what his master is doing. I have called
you friends, 6 because I have told you everything I have heard from my Father. It
was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and
bear fruit that will remain, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may
give you. This I command you: love one another.
John 15: 10-17

Prayer (Song)
Lord, make me an instrument of your 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. Amen

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Ring a bell…

References
Thomas Merton ABook of Hours, Sorin Books, 2007
www.pacebene.org

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Peace Prayer Sept21,2011

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