Peace by Peace


May-June 2013


The Veil of Veronica, El Greco, 1580-82 (Web Gallery of Art)
For the Lord is righteous; he loves justice. The upright will see his face.
~ Psalm11:7 (Christian Community Bible) ~
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Pope Benedict XVI, 16 January 2013

The poverty that Jesus means – that the prophets mean – presupposes above all inner freedom from the greed for possession and the mania for power. This is a greater reality than merely a different distribution of possessions, which would still be in the material domain and thereby make hearts even harder. It is first and foremost a matter of purification of heart, through which one recognizes possession as responsibility, as a duty towards others, placing oneself under God's gaze and letting oneself be guided by Christ, who from being rich became poor for our sake (cf. 2 Cor 8: 9). Inner freedom is the prerequisite for overcoming the corruption and greed that devastate the world today. This freedom can only be found if God becomes our richness; it can only be found in the patience of daily sacrifices, in which, as it were, true freedom develops. It is the King who points out to us the way to this goal: Jesus, whom we acclaim on Palm Sunday, whom we ask to take us with him on his way.

~Pope Benedict XVI, Homily on Palm Sunday, 9 April 2006, St Peter’s Square, Vatican City, 21st World Youth Day.
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We also are men, of like nature with you, and bring you good news, that you should turn from these vain things to a living God who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them.

~ St Barnabas, Acts of the Apostles 14:15 (RSV Catholic Edition) ~
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St Barnabas Curing the Poor, Paolo Veronese (1528 – 1588)

 


Emily Dickinson (December 1846 or early 1847)

If I can stop one heart from breaking,
I shall not live in vain;
If I can ease one life the aching,
Or cool one pain,
Or help one fainting robin
Unto his nest again,
I shall not live in vain.

~ Emily Dickinson (1830 – 1886) ~

Read by Lucy Perry
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Hermit’s cell, Moville, County Donegal, Ireland

An old monk lived in a small hut in a country infested with robbers. He called it the Home of Peace. One night a robber broke into the hut in search of money. With his dagger drawn, the thief crept toward the monk. The monk was sitting very still, wrapped in deep meditation. Just as the robber got ready to plunge the knife, the old monk opened his eyes. There was absolutely no fear in them. Instead, he looked at the robber with great compassion and tenderness. The robber hesitated, then dropped his dagger and fell to his knees. The old monk rose and put his arms around the would-be-murderer saying, ‘The ways to realize God are not many, but only one – love’.

~ Monastic Tale ~

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Common of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Roman Missal, Ordinary Time, 6
Collect

May the venerable intercession of Blessed Mary ever-Virgin
come to our aid, we pray, O Lord,
and free us from every danger,
so that we may rejoice in your peace.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.

 

Regina Cæli (Queen of Heaven)
The Regina Cæli is sung at the end of Night Prayer during the Season of Easter, replacing the Salve Regina, Hail, Holy Queen.
With the prayer added it replaces the Angelus during the Easter Season

Latin text

Regina cæli, lætare, alleluia:
Quia quem meruisti portare, alleluia,
Resurrexit, sicut dixit, alleluia,
Ora pro nobis Deum, alleluia.

V. Gaude et lætare, Virgo Maria, alleluia.
R. Quia surrexit Dominus vere, alleluia.

Oremus.

Deus, qui per resurrectionem Filii tui, Domini nostri Iesu Christi,
mundum lætificare dignatus es:
præsta, quæsumus, ut per eius Genitricem Virginem Mariam,
perpetuæ capiamus gaudia vitæ.
Per eundem Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen.

English text
Queen of heaven, rejoice, alleluia:
For He whom you merited to bear, alleluia,
Has risen, as He said, alleluia.
Pray for us to God, alleluia.
Rejoice and be glad, O Virgin Mary, Alleluia.
For the Lord has truly risen, Alleluia.
Let us pray:
O God, who by the resurrection of Your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ,
has been pleased to fill the world with joy,
grant, we beseech You, that through the intercession of the Virgin Mary, His Mother,
we may receive the joys of eternal life, through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.