Today is the International Day of Peace, originally declared by the United Nations General Assembly in 1981 to be celebrated each year on the third Tuesday of September by a cessation of acts of war and access for humanitarian aid access in areas affected by war. In 2002 the date was fixed on September 21, and in subsequent years, a call to non-violence was included in the twenty-four hour observance.
People worldwide observe a minute of silence at noon, and various ways of honoring the day have emerged around the globe.
Today is also the feast of St. Matthew, evangelist, whose gospel includes the Beatitudes and the parable of the final judgement when all are judged on their love and charity to others. The reading from Ephesians 4 for today's Mass as well as the gospel reading (Mt 9,9-13), stress love, mercy, and peace. Paul writes< "...I...urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another through love, striving to preserve the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace: one body and one Spirit, as you were also called to the hone hope of your call; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all..."
As I spent time in quiet prayer this morning the words "one God of all, who is over all and through all, and in all" lodged in my heart. Before we can bring peace, we must, as Vietnamese Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh writes, be peace. Read More
THE SCALLOP: Reflections on the Journey
International Day of Peace - Personal Day of Prayer
September 21, 2012
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"Get moving, old woman!"
October 11, 2009
While driving I have to keep an eye on the speedometer since my foot is heavy on the pedal. It wasn’t heavy enough for some this morning, though. Waiting for a car to pass in the opposite lane before I turned left raised the ire of two drivers behind me. One passed on the right, gunning his engine and giving me a hard look.
“He must be in a hurry I thought,” keeping my eyes on the approaching car. After it passed, I turned into the church parking lot, but not before hearing an angry voice shout at me from the other car: “Get moving, old woman!” she yelled.
I felt sick, but not because she called me “old woman.” While I don’t consider fifty-nine worthy of the “old woman” tag, I know age is relative. What disturbed me was the tone in her voice: anger, almost rage. I wrote about shared responsibility for bringing peace into the world as I reflected on Obama’s Nobel Peace Prize, but how can the world know peace when so many people are filled with hostility?
A couple of weeks ago I heard peace activist John Dear S.J. speak about contemplation and living peace. He quoted Vietnamese Buddhist monk, Thich Nhat Hanh: Peace in every step. Peace in every breath. We must respond to others with peace in our hearts.
I thought of that when the woman screamed at me this morning. What in her life made her quick to react with hostility to such an insignificant wait? What pain or hurt has she endured? I thought of others around the globe: young people trained to hate “the enemy,” bigots afraid of anyone different than them. I thought of those who have a right to be angry: people suffering discrimination merely for being who they are; those enduring physical and mental abuse, innocent people living in fear and watching loved ones die in war torn countries, the starving, and those impoverished in the midst of plenty?
As I entered church and found a seat, the list had become overwhelming. Peace must start in the heart, I thought. Who can follow a leader calling for peace when their hearts are filled with anger and hate? Jesus knew that was impossible. So did Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. They both insisted on nonviolence and love in response to brutality. Many thought these two men of peace were crazy to confront oppression with no weapons but nonviolence and trust in innate ability of the human soul to eventually recognize evil and choose good instead.
I looked at the altar. Jesus lived peace. He promised to help us do the same. I prayed for the woman in the car, and hoped wherever she was going, someone would meet her with a heart filled with peace. Read More
“He must be in a hurry I thought,” keeping my eyes on the approaching car. After it passed, I turned into the church parking lot, but not before hearing an angry voice shout at me from the other car: “Get moving, old woman!” she yelled.
I felt sick, but not because she called me “old woman.” While I don’t consider fifty-nine worthy of the “old woman” tag, I know age is relative. What disturbed me was the tone in her voice: anger, almost rage. I wrote about shared responsibility for bringing peace into the world as I reflected on Obama’s Nobel Peace Prize, but how can the world know peace when so many people are filled with hostility?
A couple of weeks ago I heard peace activist John Dear S.J. speak about contemplation and living peace. He quoted Vietnamese Buddhist monk, Thich Nhat Hanh: Peace in every step. Peace in every breath. We must respond to others with peace in our hearts.
I thought of that when the woman screamed at me this morning. What in her life made her quick to react with hostility to such an insignificant wait? What pain or hurt has she endured? I thought of others around the globe: young people trained to hate “the enemy,” bigots afraid of anyone different than them. I thought of those who have a right to be angry: people suffering discrimination merely for being who they are; those enduring physical and mental abuse, innocent people living in fear and watching loved ones die in war torn countries, the starving, and those impoverished in the midst of plenty?
As I entered church and found a seat, the list had become overwhelming. Peace must start in the heart, I thought. Who can follow a leader calling for peace when their hearts are filled with anger and hate? Jesus knew that was impossible. So did Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. They both insisted on nonviolence and love in response to brutality. Many thought these two men of peace were crazy to confront oppression with no weapons but nonviolence and trust in innate ability of the human soul to eventually recognize evil and choose good instead.
I looked at the altar. Jesus lived peace. He promised to help us do the same. I prayed for the woman in the car, and hoped wherever she was going, someone would meet her with a heart filled with peace. Read More
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