By Cameron Bellm
A Prayer for Peace
How do we pray for peace from half a world away?
How can words salve and soothe real wounds,
Assuage real fears, Wipe tears from real eyes?
God of endless compassion, transform our prayers
From words into bridges, that span the distances
Between us, uniting our hearts in yours.
Every time we turn our keys in a lock,
May we remember all who are losing their homes.
Every time we step into our cars,
May we remember all who are having to flee.
Every time we embrace our children,
May we remember all who are trying to shield theirs from war.
May our besieged sisters and brothers
Be drawn into the arms of the suffering Christ,
And may our cry be heard as one voice,
Ringing out from every corner of the earth:
God of endless mercy, grant us peace.
Amen.
For information on how to help Ukrainian refugees, visit Jesuit Refugee Service.
Cameron Bellm is a Seattle-based writer of prayers, poems, and devotionals. After completing her Ph.D. in Russian literature at the University of California, Berkeley, she traded the academic life for the contemplative life, informed by Ignatian spirituality and Catholic social teaching. She is the author of “A Consoling Embrace: Prayers for a Time of Pandemic” (23rd Publications, 2020). Cameron and her husband have two young sons, and, blessedly, playing with Legos often nurtures her spiritual life as much as reading the lectionary. You can find her at cameronbellm.com and on Instagram, @cameronbellm.
