Prayers: Wars

WARS AND RUMORS OF WAR

Jesus, Prince of Peace,

Wars seem to rage continually
across our shaken world, as tribes, states
and nations attempt to subdue, annex
or destroy each other in barbaric bloodshed.

The motives are many, and sadly, religion, belief and disbelief, are too often
the root cause, or at least the public posture given, for conflict between factions.

God of Peace, please don't let war
be glorified, as a noble battlefield project which proves man's macho strength. Rather,
let it be named for what it is: a neolithic and senseless failure to resolve political, population and territorial disputes
through fair, refereed, good faith negotiations.

Negotiation is humane. War is infantile.

You best know, God, that the terrible
Civil War in the United States of America
took an estimated 750,000 lives in the 1800's. But peace has now prevailed across
the U.S. for more than 100 years. The states have their differences, but they are sorted out without resorting to war.

Let this be a lesson and a model
for the world.

No rational person wants war for its own sake but leaders can summon up the national will
to avenge or to conquer.

But what shred of sanity, what rational purpose does the killing of hundreds
or thousands of young soldiers in the prime
of their lives serve? You, Lord, have given them life. Who dares to take it away?

And who can say that the courageous soldier-hero victims are truly not forgotten,
as their bodies molder and their tombstones topple over?

I beg You, Jesus, to send down special graces and insight to leaders, who can oppose
the feelings of misguided pride and extreme nationalism which lead to conflict.
Help us learn to find sane ways to resolve international quarrels.

Guide us all, of every creed, religion
and belief, to respect the freedom
of conscience and freedom of religion
of every person of every nation. Let us accord to all people sufficient land, food, dignity,
and decent living conditions.

Some adherents of Islam are particularly subject to bloody bombings and street killings in our own era, slaughtering among their own various factions, and bombing Christians in many nations at random.

Please, Lord of Love, Charity, Tolerance
and Understanding, lead us wisely
to the fair sharing of the world's land, resources and riches, and to a benign tolerance which respects every human being's sacred worth and individual conscience.

Especially, please let the day come
when no man or woman, young or old, takes up arms against another nation or fellow countrymen.

Guide us to eliminate the particular scandal of killings in the name of religion.
Help us respect all religious commitments
and truly-held beliefs, however foreign
they may be to our own particular creeds.
Lead us to communicate civilly with each other rather than picking up arms, declaring war, and shedding blood.

All this I pray to You, Creator of Mankind, Prince of Peace, and God of Great Enduring Universal Love,

Amen

v . . .x-x v . . . -

Deaths in World War II:
20 million military - 30 million civilian

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