Welcome to the Center to BE!

Heavenly Father, heavenly Mother,
Holy and blessed is your true name.
We pray for your reign of peace to come,
We pray that your good will be done,
Let heaven and earth become one.
Give us this day the bread we need,
Give it to those who have none.
Let forgiveness flow like a river between us,
From each one to each one.
Lead us to holy innocence
Beyond the evil of our days
Come swiftly Mother, Father, come.
For yours is the power and the glory and the mercy:
Forever your name is All in One.
-- Parker J. Palmer
in Peace Prayers
edited by Carrie Leadingham, Joann E. Moschella, &
Hilary M. Vartanian

You, the one
From whom on different paths
All of us have come.
To whom on different paths
All of us are going.
Make strong in our hearts what unites us;
Build bridges across all that divides us;
United make us rejoice in our diversity.
At one in our witness to your peace,
A rainbow of your glory.
Amen.

-- Brother David Steindl-Rast
in Prayers for a Thousand Years
edited by Elizabeth Roberts and Elias Amidon

A Call to Peace

Lord, help us to lead our world in the ways of justice and peace.Help us to be at peace with ourselves, our families, friends and neighbours. May peace not conflict arise from our hearts wherever we go. Help us to be active peacemakers - to bring peace into the world by whatever means we are able. Help us never to stand back and watch people suffer, but to look for solutions in the smallest and the largest situations. May our peace be a sign of strength and not of weakness, that others may follow peace with peace. Amen.
--Fleur Dorrell, Mothers' Union

Prayer for Peace

[O loving God], help us to be the masters of the weapons that threaten to master us.
Help us to use science for peace and plenty, not for war and destruction.
Show us how to use atomic power to bless our children's children, not to blight them.
Save us from the compulsion to follow our adversaries in all that we most hate, confirming them in their hatred and suspicion of us.
Resolve our inner contradictions, which now grow beyond belief and beyond bearing. They are at once a torment and a blessing; for if you had not left us the light of conscience, we would not have to endure them. Teach us to be long-suffering in anguish and insecurity, teach us to wait and trust.
Grant light, grant strength and patience to all who work for peace.
Grant us prudence in relation to our power, wisdom in proportion to our science, humaneness in proportion to our wealth and might.
And bless our earnest will to help all races and peoples to travel, in friendship with us, along the road to justice, liberty and lasting peace.
(This is an excerpt from a prayer, written by Thomas Merton, which was read in the House of Representatives by Congressman Frank Kowalski on April 12, 1962, the Wednesday in Holy Week.)

Palms Down, Palms Up Prayer

Sit quietly.
Breathe deeply and slowly.
With palms of your hands facing down on your lap, ask to let go of all that is weighing you down, all that feels painful, all that holds you back. You may or may not be able to name what these things are. Feel the energy flow out of your hands.
Continue to breathe deeply and slowly.
Then, turn your palms up and ask to receive whatever you need to be faithful to your path, to act with integrity, to persevere despite difficulties. You may or may not be able to name what these things are. Feel the energy flow into your open hands.
This practice can be done in the morning before the work of the day, throughout the day when difficulty arises, or in the evening before sleep.
(with thanks to Carl Koch)

May there be peace within today;
May you trust your highest power that you are
exactly where you are meant to be;
May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith.
May you use those gifts that you have received, and
Pass on the love that has been given to you…
May you be content knowing you are a child of God….
Let this presence settle into your bones, and allow
Your soul the freedom to sing, dance and to bask in the sun…
It is there for each and every one of you…
--St. Therese