Praying for Real Peace

Violence in Our World

Today, we see another act of violence where a senseless act of evil has ended many lives. We lift our prayers first for the victims and their families and friends. The pain they must be feeling right now is overbearing and heart-wrenching. When we continue to see acts of violence such as this one, we have a sense of unending loss. This is when we turn to God asking for his peace, guidance and most of all his intercession for the victims and to bring solution to the violence in our world.

Finding Answers

A former spiritual director once told me, there are no real "answers" in a human sense as to why violence happens, since evil is something the human mind and heart will never be able to "figure out".

The "whys" of evil will never have any kind of reasonable or justified answers. We may discover answers about the events and the persons themselves, but the reasons why evil happens are far too difficult for us to truly comprehend.

We turn to God to help us to find solutions to problems in our world. We pray that we can come together in love as "brothers and sisters" reaching out to the suffering of our world in dire times. In doing this, we also fulfill our own mission with the Lord. This mission is to do the will of the Father in caring for his people. Sometimes the small acts of charity we do for others in our days do make a difference in caring for those who need to feel God's presence in their lives.

A Prayer for Real Peace

Here is a prayer for the victims and for lasting peace in our world today:

"Heavenly Father, thank you for being our God amidst tragedies and violence. Thank you for consoling those who are suffering and taking the souls of those who have died into your hands. We know that you are caring for the weak and suffering and that you are with all of us in the times of our lives when we are at a loss for words.

Lord, we ask you to continue to guide all of us on the path of life into your own peace. We pray especially for the victims of senseless tragedies such as the one we are experiencing right now. Please bring about your "Kingdom on Earth" that we can come to you as Our Father in order to bring about peace. This is a peace which "surpasses all understanding". As you guide us along in our lives, we pray that we can honor you in a great way knowing that Your Presence is the gift we receive when we are enduring the tragedies of the world. We ask all of this in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen."

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