Weekly Peace Prayer

for May 12, 2026

prepared by
Sister Carmel Little, CSJP ‍

Constitutions:
Recalling Jesus’ identification with the prophetic tradition,
we develop a critical, sensitive conscience
regarding religious, social, cultural,
economic, and political realities,
and we direct our efforts
to actions which bring peace through justice. #23

Reading:     Micah 6-8
“With what shall I come before the Lord,
    and bow down  before God most high?
Shall I come before God with burnt offerings,
    with calves a year old?
Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,
    with ten thousands of rivers of oil?
Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression,
    the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?”

God has told you, O Mortal, what is good;
    and what God requires of you;
only to do justice, and to love kindness,
    and to walk humbly with your God.

Quiet Reflection

Reading:        All disasters stem from us.  Why is there war? Perhaps because now and then I might be inclined to snap at my neighbor.  Because I and my neighbor and everyone else do not have enough love.  Yet we would fight war and all is excrescences by releasing, each day, the love which is shackled inside us. And giving it a chance to live.  And I believe that I will never be able to hate any human being for their so-called “wickedness,” that I shall only hate the evil that is within me, though hate is perhaps putting it too strongly even then.  In any case, we cannot be lax enough in what we demand of others and strict enough in what we demand of ourselves.   
An Interrupted Life, Etty Hillesum

Reading:
Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison
by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all
living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.
‍ ‍Albert Einstein

Prayer to the Holy Spirit
Come Spirit of God, grant us
the power to be gentle,
the strength to be forgiving,
the patience to be understanding,
the endurance to accept the consequences
of holding on to what is right.

Come Spirit of wisdom
Enlighten  the Leaders of Israel and Gaza
to take steps towards a ceasefire,
and guide their actions
in your way of peace. 

Come Holy Spirit,
enkindle in us the fire of your love.
Send forth your Spirit and we shall be created,
and you shall renew the face of the earth. amen

Quiet Reflection

Blessing:
May God’s Spirit put our faith into action,
enable us to work in love and to persevere in hope.
And may God’s peace that is beyond all understanding
guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.