The first priority in Archbishop Mark’s Apostolic Priorities for the Archdiocese of Brisbane, documented in With Lamps Ablaze, is Teaching Prayer. He says, “Often we urge people to pray but don’t really teach them how to pray… Now is the time to teach ways of prayer which are mature and all-embracing. Christian prayer begins not with speaking but with listening; and learning to pray is therefore learning to listen – to listen even to the silences of God. If all we do is speak, then in the words of Jesus we “babble like the pagans” (Matt 6:7). But if we speak after listening and in response to God who always has the first word, then we speak according to the mind of the Holy Spirit. That’s what we need to teach and learn. In the Gospel of Mark, we read that Jesus called the twelve apostles to himself, first of all, “that they might be with him” (3:14). This is where the mission starts: being with Jesus, which is what prayer is.”
Join us for our new weekly series, Let’s Pray, where we invite you to pray along with us. Each week we will invite you to pray a new prayer with us – maybe you don’t know what to pray, or want to pray along with someone, or want to practice your faith through prayer. Our Let’s Pray series is for everyone.
This week, we invite you to pray for peace to end war. We know that there is war and conflict occurring across the world right now, and we ask you to join us to remember those who have dedicated their lives and paid the supreme sacrifice in the hope of bringing peace in the world. We pray for the victims and those made vulnerable by war and conflicts; we pray for the families and friends of those who have died in war and conflicts; and we pray for all those who still bear the scars of war. We pray for peace and that God would move in the hearts of those that create conflict, so that differences may be resolved without resorting to violence. Let us pray that we may play our part in making our world a better place.
- Prayer of Peace to End War
Prayer of Peace to End War
Author: Archdiocese of Brisbane
Hello there. I am Dcn Gary Stone. I served in the military for over 47 years. The first half of that was in the infantry as an armed peacemaker, and the second half was as a chaplain. I served in seven different conflicts, often in life threatening situations where faith in God and daily prayer sustained me.I vividly remember one day in 1990 on the Iran Iraq border, where I felt certain I was going to die, and I was consoled that my service would be acknowledged by our tradition of remembrance. Some of my friends have died in the service of peace, and you and I can honour their service today. We can pray too for the more than 120,000 veterans in our Archdiocese who have survived conflict but are still wounded in body, mind or spirit. We will remember them now, lest we forget that we have brought peace to many troubled peoples.
Dear God, our Father, we give you thanks for all those women and men, especially those we recall today who gave their lives and paid the supreme sacrifice in the hope of bringing peace in the world. We recall their bravery and dedication. Their mateship and solidarity and their compassion and care for those in need. We pray too for their families and those that loved them and for the mates they served with who still bear the scars of war, that they may be consoled in their grief by our love and regard for them. Loving Jesus, Prince of Peace. We pray for peace.
We pray that you would move in the hearts of those that create conflict and that people may resolve differences without resorting to violence. Break down barriers of vengeance, hatred and fear and build up those things that can make for justice, freedom and peace. Holy spirit of love for all humanity. We pray that we may dedicate ourselves afresh to the service of peace following the words of Saint Paul, may we go out into the world in peace, being brave and holding fast to what is good. May we strengthen the faint hearted, support the weak, help the afflicted, and to honour all peoples. We have remembered. We will not forget them. We will play our part in making our world a better place. And now we ask God’s blessing at this time.
In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Go in peace to love and serve our Lord as peacemakers and peacekeepers. Thank you.