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"May the peace of God, which passes all understanding, guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus."
- Apostle Paul

Peace Be With You

He did not speak peace to a gentle sea but to wild waves and seasick disciples.

He did not speak peace to a life on track but to an unwed teen who would soon birth God.

He did not speak peace to courageous believers but to hiding men who thought Christ was a ghost.

Peace, it seems, is heard the loudest in the places we think it shouldn't belong.

So in this year of chaos and loss, may the peace of Christ ring loud in your ears

and echo its comfort in the depths of your heart.

The Prince of Peace has come.

Mary & the Power of Peace

Click on the gallery below for a contemplative reading from Luke 1:26-38 (NIV)

Songs of Peace

Click on the songs below for songs of peace.  May these songs land softly.

Image by Davies Designs Studio

Poems of Peace

These poems, from my journal, were written during past peace weeks.  Don't expect polished edges, here.  It's a little too raw for that.

"And Then the Angel Left Her"
A journal poem from peace week, 2022

Minutes?  Hours?

            How long

                        was she still

                                    in the aftermath?

 

How long

            after lightning strikes

                        do you wait

                                    before you stand

 

pick up

            your broom

                        or laundry tub

                                    and get on with your day?

A flash.

            A word.

                        Everything transforms

                                    except

 

that nothing does

            and there is nothing

                        to be done

                                    but to rise

 

and wait

            and carry

                        the forming bones

                                    of God in your flesh.

 

After the thunder

            of the angel

                        and the flash

                                    of light

 

Does the silence

            of absence

                        ring?  Does regular

                                    daylight dim?

How long

            was she still?

                        And when she moved-

                                    then what?

 

And tell me

            of the moment

                        her mother

                                    entered

 

with a grocery list

            or crying child.

                        Did Mary speak

                                    of the holy intruder

 

or grab a fistful

            of pomegranate seeds

                        and crush them

                                    in her teeth?

Image by DDP
Image by Juli Kosolapova

"The Quickening"
A journal poem from advent week, 2022

The first flutter

feels soft.  You wonder

if its hunger.

 

It returns, whispers

in the deepest places

of your body

 

Something coming

awake

something very near

 

the raw parts

of your soul. A stir

to say

 

you are not alone.

A notion made real

with one tiny flip

 

in the core

of your being.  Everything responds. 

Heart.  Lungs.  Brain.

 

When the Mother

first felt the rustle of God

in the well of her frame

 

did she mistake it

for the hunger it was?

Did she laugh?

 

or cry?  Or sing another song

for the holy mystery

tucked in her skin?

 

And we?  We modern Marys

who carry the Spirit

of God in our flesh?

 

May we place our hands

on our bodies and feel

the Son of God stirring within.

 

May we laugh and cry

and sing with delight

for what we have to birth.

 

Hunger and hope.

Wriggling life.

God entwined with our cells.

Art & Photography for Peace 

Click on the gallery below to dive into images - ancient & modern - of Mary, hope, light, and darkness.

Prayers of Peace

Ancient prayers.  Breath prayers.  Scripture prayers.  Lean on these or create your own.

Journal Prompts

Use them all, or only a few, or none at all. 

Notice which ones draw you.  Notice which ones repel you.  Create your own.  Draw.  Discuss.  Play.

 

May these prompts serve as a springboard.

01.

Longings.

Where in your life would you like to see peace kindled?

02.

Resistance.

Does anything in you resist peace?  Consider the push-back.

03.

Vulnerability.

Is there anything you would like to receive from Jesus before embracing peace?

04.

History.

When have you received a peace that passes understanding?

05.

Love.

How does God interact with your turbulence?  Consider His face, and His delight in you.

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