Pax
Christi
Lent
2003
“It
is the duty of believers, regardless of the religion to which they belong,
to proclaim that we will never be able to be happy if we are against one
another; the future of humanity will never be able to be assured by
terrorism and the logic of war…all Catholics are invited to dedicate with
special intensity March 5, Ash Wednesday, to prayer and fasting for the
cause of peace, especially in the Middle East”.
– Pope John
Paul II from Zenit –
People
of Faith Strike for Peace – March 5, Ash Wednesday
Each
Lent, the Christian Church is called to observe forty days of prayer,
fasting, penance and works of mercy and solidarity with the poor and
vulnerable. This Ash Wednesday,
as we embark on the journey that leads to and through the Cross, Pax Christi
USA is issuing a call for faithful Christians in the U.S. to repent of the
sins of our nation and to resist our government’s march toward war with
Iraq. In concert with many
other peace and justice groups (see “Students Strike Against the War”
and “Moratorium Against War” at end of this message), PCUSA invites
Christians everywhere to “strike” for peace – no work, no cars, no
television, no shopping, and no classes.
Let our absence from our everyday activities instead be filled with
prayer, fasting, communal worship, meditation, public prayer and witness.
Let our prayer and witness remind the President and others across our
land that war with
We
invite Christians and people of faith throughout the
Resources
available on PCUSA’s website
(www.paxchristiusa.org)
Check
Pax Christi USA’s website after March 1 for a
Prayer Service prepared by Nancy Small and a reflection piece by John Dear,
SJ – both appropriate for use during Lent. Nancy and Fr. John are both Pax
Christi USA Ambassadors of Peace.
Daily
Prayer
On
Ash Wednesday and every day during Lent, we ask people everywhere to recite
this prayer for world peace by Sr. Joan Chittister, OSB.
We offer this prayer for your use whether alone or with a group,
whether in your home or church or from the streets:
Prayer
for World Peace
by
Joan D. Chittister, OSB
Great
God, who has told us
“Vengeance
is mine,”
save
us from ourselves,
save
us from the vengeance in our hearts
and
the acid in our souls.
Save
us from our desire to hurt as we have been hurt,
to
punish as we have been punished,
to
terrorize as we have been terrorized.
Give
us the strength it takes
to
listen rather than to judge,
to
trust rather than to fear,
to
try again and again
to
make peace even when peace eludes us.
We
ask, O God, for the grace
to
be our best selves.
We
ask for the vision
to
be builders of the human community
rather
than its destroyers.
We
as for the humility as a people
to
understand the fears and hopes of other peoples.
We
ask for the love it takes
to
bequeath to the children of the world to come
more
than the failures of our own making.
We
ask for the heart it takes
to
care for all the peoples
of
as
well as for ourselves.
Give
us the depth of soul, O God,
to
constrain our might,
to
resist the temptations of power,
to
refuse to attack the attackable,
to
understand
the
vengeance begets violence,
and
to bring peace – not war – wherever we go.
For
You, O God, have been merciful to us.
For
You, O God, have been patient with us.
For
You, O God, have been gracious to us.
And
so may we be merciful
and
patient
and
gracious
and
trusting
with
these others who you also love.
This
we ask through, Jesus
the
one without vengeance in his heart.
This
we ask forever and ever. Amen.
(This
prayer is available from Pax Christi
Pax
Christi USA's 2003 Fast for Peace – Shalom - Salaam
During
this season of fasting, Pax Christi USA calls upon its members and people of
faith everywhere to join together each Friday in fasting for peace. Fasting
is a part of many religious traditions and it offers a simple, yet profound
way of combining the spiritual and the political. Gandhi called it "the
sincerest form of prayer."
Fasting
can take many forms, and we invite individuals and communities to discern
the manner in which they will undertake this fast. Many Pax Christi USA
members have already dedicated Fridays as days during which they will fast
for peace, and in Islam, Friday is considered a holy day. We are asking that
fast participants use each Friday to remember those who will most suffer in
the event of a war. Please invite others to participate in this fast.
.
A
fast works in many ways. The
emptiness in our bellies can put us in solidarity with those who suffer
hunger because most of our federal budget goes to military greed instead of
feeding the hungry. The fast
can be an act of penance on behalf of our country for its failures to seek
out peace and its willingness to embrace war.
The fast also sanctifies us for the time ahead, for we will need to
be ever more deeply committed to the way of nonviolence and peacemaking.
Lastly, a fast is a clear statement to our political leaders that we
will not stand passively by while they beat the drum for war and vengeance.
Logistics
of the fast:
Good
Friday Way of the Cross
“Traditionally,
the Stations of the Cross (Way of the Cross), the devotional walking of the
way of the cross with Jesus, have often concentrated on the suffering and
death of the person, Jesus. But
since the Second Vatican Council, the suffering and death of Jesus are seen
more clearly to be the suffering and death of the world that continues in
our history and our presence. The
cross is not personal, but universal and communal.
The cross encompasses the suffering and death of the innocent, those
condemned unjustly, those who side with the poor, those who struggle for
justice, those who die unnecessarily, violently, in war, starvation,
drought, torture, prisons, nations divided and torn.
As disciples we are exhorted to “deny our very selves, take up the
cross and follow in the footsteps of Jesus.”
We are exhorted to take up the world and its injustices and death
and, with Jesus, to absorb in our own bodies and souls the death of the
world.” (From Stations of the
Cross by Megan McKenna)
It
is a tradition in many places to mark Good Friday with a public witness
centered on the Way of the Cross. We
encourage communities and groups to consider initiating or participating in
a public Way of the Cross on Good Friday, April 18.
PCUSA provides several resources on the Way of the Cross (see Lenten
Resources below). If you or
your group do organize a public Way of the Cross, please contact Phyllis
Jepson at paxwpb@gate.net
Lenten
Resources from Pax Christi
To
Live the Passion and Compassion of Jesus: Reflections for Lent 2003
by M. Shawn Copeland, Ph.D – Daily reflection booklet, $2.50 plus s&h
(Item No. 531-045)
Gateway
to Resurrection
by Joan Chittister, OSB – Stations of the Cross, $3.50 plus s&h (Item
No. 558-444)
Stations
of the Cross
by Megan McKenna - $3.00 plus s&h (Item: No. 558-131)
Prayer
for World Peace
by Joan Chittister, OSB – Prayer card, $.50/each or $10/100; $80/1000 plus
s&h (Item No. 540-473)
Prayer
to End the War against
Other
Lenten Resources:
The
Way of Peace Resources – related to the situation in
Operation
Rice Bowl (Catholic Relief Services)
– this Lenten
program is for individuals, parishes, and dioceses and urges Catholics in
the U.S. to pray, fast, learn and give – to put their faith into action.
Operation Rice Bowl helps to connect you with the global community.
For more information, go to: www.HELPCRS.org/orb
.
Others
Strike for Peace:
You may never know what results come from your action. But if you do nothing, there will be no results.
- Gandhi
February
28 - National Citizen Strike for Peace
- All
www.stopthewarmachine.org
, jbowen1@comcast.net
March
5 - Student Strike Against the War (National Youth and Student Peace
Coalition) –
young people across the country are preparing to take part in one of the
largest days of student protests since the Vietnam War.
Thousands of students on hundreds of campuses will be participating
in walkouts, demonstrations and other displays of opposition.
For more information, www.nyspc.net
March
5 - Moratorium on War Against