March’s Intention:
For Disarmament and Peace
Let us pray that nations move toward effective disarmament, particularly nuclear disarmament, and that world leaders choose the path of dialogue and diplomacy instead of violence.
Lord of Life,
you shaped every human being in your image and likeness.
We believe you created us for communion, not for war,
for fraternity, not for destruction.
You who greeted your disciples saying, “Peace be with you,”
grant us the gift of your peace
and the strength to make it a reality in history.
Today we lift up our prayer for peace in the world,
asking that nations renounce weapons
and choose the path of dialogue and diplomacy.
Disarm our hearts of hatred, resentment, and indifference,
so we may become instruments of reconciliation.
Help us understand that true security
does not come from control fueled by fear,
but from trust, justice, and solidarity among peoples.
Lord, enlighten the leaders of the nations,
so they may have the courage to abandon projects of death,
halt the arms race,
and place the lives of the most vulnerable at the center.
May the nuclear threat never again dictate the future of humanity.
Holy Spirit,
make us faithful and creative builders of daily peace:
in our hearts, our families,
our communities, and our cities.
May every kind word, every gesture of reconciliation,
and every choice for dialogue be seeds of a new world.
Amen.
“I’m a Human Being, Too!”
A Reflection by Fr. Paul Morrissey, O.S.A.
As an Augustinian priest in my mid-thirties, I was living with the Quakers in Philadelphia to study nonviolence. It was in the midst of the Vietnam War. To support myself during this sabbatical, I had a job as a substitute teacher in the Philadelphia school system. Once a week or so, I would be called to substitute in a public school to take the place of a teacher who had called in sick that day.
One day as I rode home on my bicycle from one of these stints, I noticed a group of young kids gathered across the street ahead of me on my left. They were on their bikes, and they noticed me. One of them pointed at me as I pedaled alongside a line of parked cars on my right. This was South Philly and I was on their turf. With mischief on their faces, they swirled in my direction. As they did so, instinctively I jammed my foot on the pedal of my bike to swoosh past them before they could cut me off. Just as my bike sped past them, one of them drew a knife and tried to slash me. He missed, thank God.
Now the race was on: me with a gang of young teenagers chasing me on their bikes through South Philly at dusk. Petrified and yet filled with adrenaline by the danger, I pedaled for my life. At one point, I glanced back and discovered that I had pulled quite a bit ahead of them. Then some instinct other than fear took over. Stopping my bike, I turned to face them while they charged toward me. As though I was possessed, a scream of self-assertion burst out of my throat: “I’M A HUMAN BEING TOO!”
Halting their pursuit, they came to a stop. They stared at me first, and then at one another. They and I seemed stunned by the revelation: we are fellow human beings. How can we be threatened by each other? Panting deeply while still gazing at each other, the fight or flight instinct in our brains and bodies was superseded by another feeling – an even deeper one it seemed as I turned and pedaled home: we are fellow human beings. We are in this thing called life together. With all our apparent differences and conflicts, how can we coexist?
I recount this because it seems to shed a light on the theme of disarmament and peace. When we can dehumanize someone or a group, it is easy to see them as a threat and be willing to harm – even kill – them. When we are threatened, we have the capacity to remind an opponent that we are fellow human beings. The drums of conflict and war may have blinded us both to this fact.
In our cities now, ICE agents and American citizens face off in escalating battles in the streets. De-escalation is not in the picture. We need a mantra that can break through the fear that fosters violence.
At the very least, we need to meditate on the common humanity we share with our “enemies” and they with us. We need to be willing to show this in the midst of the war-fever that threatens all of us at this crucial moment in our common human history.
I’m a human being too!
ove. Can you do an act of kindness for the individual who is sick? Write a card. Send a drawing. Create a meme. Do something. If you can’t be with the child who is sick, then be present to the sick children who are near you. At a minimum, hug and love your own children. Buy a present for a child at a Ronald McDonald House or a children’s hospital. Do an act of love that lets the child know that he or she is not alone. Be the Simon of Cyrene and bear the cross with the child. Be courageous. Prayer makes us more loving as we join our prayers to the suffering of children. Prayer does indeed change the one who prays by helping us understand suffering as a consequence of true love.
