Many were shocked and concerned when 75-year-old Martin Gugino – a Catholic Peace activist – was pushed and injured during a peaceful protest against systemic racism.
The Catholic Peace movement has its basis in Jesus’ words from the Sermon on the Mount, “Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God” (Matthew 5:9).
It was during the 20th century – the bloodiest and most destructive century in human history – that the Catholic Peace Movement in the United States was born. With spiritual leaders such as Dorothy Day, Thomas Merton and others, they sought a better way and advocated for peace. Part of this was by peace building, learning that peace was not going to happen without first tackling systemic problems. Another way was to protest the injustices in our society, in hopes of bringing issues to light.
In 1912, a prayer was published in the French Catholic publication, The Bell. The writer was anonymous, but possibly the editor, Father Esther Bouquerel. Around 1920, the prayer was printed on a card with a picture of St. Francis of Assisi on the front. The prayer began to be known as the Peace Prayer of St. Francis. While not written by St. Francis, it does remind us of the spirit of the saint who lived in peace with God, humanity and all creation:
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me bring love.
Where there is offense, let me bring forgiveness.
Where there is discord, let me bring union.
Where there is error, let me bring truth.
Where there is doubt, let me bring faith.
Where there is despair, let me bring hope.
Where there is darkness, let me bring your light.
Where there is sadness, let me bring joy.
O Master, let me not seek as much
to be consoled as to console,
to be understood as to understand,
to be loved as to love,
for it is in giving that one receives,
it is in self-forgetting that one finds,
it is in pardoning that one is pardoned,
it is in dying that one is raised to eternal life.
It is easy to understand why this prayer is so well-loved and prayed by many.
My hope is as we pray this prayer we will remember the source of true peace, Jesus, who said, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:27).
Eric Reece is the faith columnist for The Graham Star. He is the pastor of Robbinsville United Methodist Church.