The "Other" Prayer

As mentioned in a previous post, the Regina Coeli now takes the place of the Angelus when the church bells peel morning, noon, and night during the Easter Season. This is a wonderful reminder of our salvation during the next 50 days.

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V. Regina cæli, lætare, alleluia:

R. Quia quem meruisti portare, alleluia,

V. Resurrexit, sicut dixit, alleluia,

R. 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 eumdem Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen.

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V. Queen of Heaven, rejoice. Alleluia.
R. For He Whom thou was made worthy to bear. Alleluia.

V. Has risen as He said. Alleluia.
R. Pray for us to God. Alleluia.

V. Rejoice and be glad, O Virgin Mary. Alleluia.
R. For the Lord hath risen indeed. Alleluia.

Let us pray: O God, Who through the resurrection of Thy Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, hast vouchsafed to make glad the world, grant us we beseech Thee, that, through the intercession of the Virgin Mary, His Mother, we may attain unto the joys of eternal life. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.

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Originally posted 4/16/2006.
Re-posted 4/4/2010.
Re-posted 4/8/2012.
Re-posted 3/31/2013.
Re-posted 4/20/2014.
Re-posted 4/5/2015.
Re-posted 3/27/2016.
Re-posted 4/16/2017.
Re-posted 4/1/2018.
Re-posted 4/21/2019.

Re-posted 4/12/2020.

Re-posted 4/4/2021.

Re-posted 4/17/2022.

Easter Sequence

The Resurrection of Christ, by Peter Paul Rubens

Victimae Paschali laudes immolent Christiani.

Agnus redemit oves: Christus innocens Patri reconciliavit peccatores.

Mors et vita duello conflixere mirando: dux vitae mortuus, regnat vivus.

Dic nobis Maria, Quid vidisti in via?

Sepulcrum Christi viventis, et gloriam vidi resurgentis.

Angelicos testees, sudarium et vestes.

Surrexit Christus spes mea: praecedet suos in Galilaeam.

Scimus Christum surrexisse a mortuis vere: Tu nobis, victor Rex miserere.

Amen. Alleluia.

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Christians, to the Paschal victim offer sacrifice and praise.

The sheep are ransomed by the Lamb; and Christ, the undefiled, hath sinners to his Father reconciled.

Death with life contended: combat strangely ended!

Life's own Champion, slain, yet lives to reign.

Tell us, Mary: say what thou didst see upon the way.

The tomb the Living did enclose; I saw Christ's glory as He rose!

The angels there attesting; shroud with grave-clothes resting.

Christ, my hope, has risen: He goes before you into Galilee.

That Christ is truly risen from the dead we know.

Victorious King, Thy mercy show!

Amen. Alleluia.

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He Is Risen! He Is Risen Indeed!

Happy Easter, Everybody!

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Originally posted Easter Sunday 2006.
Re-posted Easter Sunday 2007.
Re-posted Easter Sunday 2008.
Re-posted Easter Sunday 2009.
Re-posted Easter Sunday 2011.
Re-posted Easter Sunday 2012.
Re-posted Easter Sunday 2013.
Re-posted Easter Sunday 2014.
Re-posted Easter Sunday 2015.
Re-posted Easter Sunday 2016.
Re-posted Easter Sunday 2017.
Re-posted Easter Sunday 2018.
Re-posted Easter Sunday 2019.

Re-posted Easter Sunday 2020.

Re-posted Easter Sunday 2021.

Re-posted Easter Sunday 2022.

Some messages never change.

2023 Easter Card

May our Risen Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ bestow upon you blessings upon blessings.

May the Lamb of God, slain for our sins, grant you grace in abundance.

May you experience all the joy, love, and peace He brings to you and all the world.

Happy Easter, Everybody!

He is Risen! He is Risen Indeed! 

Preface For A Vigil

Before the Exsultet is intoned, the rubrics state the person who will chant this asks for a blessing from the priest, in the same way the deacon does before proclaiming the Gospel. To have the honor and privilege of this task, as I have, is humbling and daunting. One needs all the grace that can be bestowed, especially if a lay cantor is taking the place of "an unworthy Levite", to paraphrase that section of the hymn.

The musical formula for the lion's share of this prayer is the same as the Preface before the Eucharistic Prayer, with some joyful sounding motives added to some phrases. The connection between the two is unmistakable. We are asked to lift up our hearts to the Lord and truly and righty give Him thanks. It is in acknowledgement of the great gift the Father through the Son in the Spirit has bestowed upon us:  eternal life by the life, death, and resurrection of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. In the Eucharistic Prayer, we have re-presented the saving action of Calvary, veiled in the Upper Room at the Last Supper. In the procession starting the Easter Vigil, it is in the presentation of the Pascal Candle, a symbol of the Risen Christ, "a torch so precious", this "pillar of fire" which "banished the darkness of sin". 

Therefore "(i)t is truly right and just, with ardent love of mind and heart, and with devoted service of our voice, to acclaim our God invisible, the almighty Father, and Jesus Christ, our Lord, his Son, his Only Begotten." Why? "To ransom a slave, you gave away your Son." Is there any other god who would do that?

We humans are so loved. When are we going to act like it?

If you assist at the Vigil, let what amounts to the Church's greatest Introit ring in your ears, mind, heart, and soul.

Both the Latin and English texts are provided for your meditation.

Seven Last Words: Waiting And Trusting

Crucified Christ with Saint John the Evangelist, the Virgin, and Saints Dominic and Jerome
by Fra Angelico

This concludes a series of short meditations upon the statements made while Jesus hung on the Cross.

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"Father, into Thy hands I commend my spirit." (Luke 23:46, cf. Psalm 31:6)

Before the feast of Passover, Jesus realized that the hour had come for him to pass from this world to the Father. He had loved his own in this world, and would show his love for them to the end.

John 13:1

His final acts. One last attempt to reveal Himself to the world (again, a fragment of a Psalm which would be familiar to all, another one which portrayed His Passion). And then, He dies.

"What wondrous love is this, O my soul?" A love which takes a soul a lifetime to understand, much less appreciate, much less articulate, much less emulate. A love eternal.

And now comes the ultimate act of trust. In His humanity, He can no longer do anymore. In a sense, He has become a child again--placed in His Mother's arms, wrapped in cloth, laid to rest in a place not His own. He has now placed His trust in the Father, a trust that the plan of salvation would come to fruition.

His work on earth is done. His job--to re-create the world--is completed. The six days from Palm Sunday to Good Friday are over. "Since on the seventh day God was finished with the work he had been doing, he rested on the seventh day from all the work he had undertaken." (Genesis 2:2)

And so He rests.

And so we wait.

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Originally posted 4/15/2006 as "Seven Last Words: Trusting".
Re-posted 4/7/2007 as "Seven Last Words: Waiting."
Re-posted 3/22/2008.
Re-posted 4/11/2009.
Re-posted 4/3/2010.
Re-posted 4/23/2011.
Re-posted 4/7/2012.
Re-posted 3/30/2013.
Re-posted 4/19/2014.
Re-posted 4/4/2015.
Re-posted 3/26/2016.
Re-posted 4/15/2017.
Re-posted 3/31/2018.
Re-posted 4/20/2019.

Re-posted 4/11/2020.

Re-posted 4/3/2021.

Re-posted /16/2022.

While We Wait

The following is from the Office of Readings of the Divine Office/Liturgy of the Hours. It is a ancient homily preserved in this liturgy for this day. Its tone reflects the mood of the day and the anticipation of what is to come

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The Lord's Descent Into The Underworld

Something strange is happening – there is a great silence on earth today, a great silence and stillness. The whole earth keeps silence because the King is asleep. The earth trembled and is still because God has fallen asleep in the flesh and he has raised up all who have slept ever since the world began. God has died in the flesh and hell trembles with fear.

  

He has gone to search for our first parent, as for a lost sheep. Greatly desiring to visit those who live in darkness and in the shadow of death, he has gone to free from sorrow the captives Adam and Eve, he who is both God and the son of Eve. The Lord approached them bearing the cross, the weapon that had won him the victory. At the sight of him Adam, the first man he had created, struck his breast in terror and cried out to everyone: “My Lord be with you all.” Christ answered him: “And with your spirit.” He took him by the hand and raised him up, saying: “Awake, O sleeper, and rise from the dead, and Christ will give you light.”

  

I am your God, who for your sake have become your son. Out of love for you and for your descendants I now by my own authority command all who are held in bondage to come forth, all who are in darkness to be enlightened, all who are sleeping to arise. I order you, O sleeper, to awake. I did not create you to be held a prisoner in hell. Rise from the dead, for I am the life of the dead. Rise up, work of my hands, you who were created in my image. Rise, let us leave this place, for you are in me and I am in you; together we form only one person and we cannot be separated. For your sake I, your God, became your son; I, the Lord, took the form of a slave; I, whose home is above the heavens, descended to the earth and beneath the earth. For your sake, for the sake of man, I became like a man without help, free among the dead. For the sake of you, who left a garden, I was betrayed to the Jews in a garden, and I was crucified in a garden.

  

See on my face the spittle I received in order to restore to you the life I once breathed into you. See there the marks of the blows I received in order to refashion your warped nature in my image. On my back see the marks of the scourging I endured to remove the burden of sin that weighs upon your back. See my hands, nailed firmly to a tree, for you who once wickedly stretched out your hand to a tree.

  

I slept on the cross and a sword pierced my side for you who slept in paradise and brought forth Eve from your side. My side has healed the pain in yours. My sleep will rouse you from your sleep in hell. The sword that pierced me has sheathed the sword that was turned against you.

  

Rise, let us leave this place. The enemy led you out of the earthly paradise. I will not restore you to that paradise, but I will enthrone you in heaven. I forbade you the tree that was only a symbol of life, but see, I who am life itself am now one with you. I appointed cherubim to guard you as slaves are guarded, but now I make them worship you as God. The throne formed by cherubim awaits you, its bearers swift and eager. The bridal chamber is adorned, the banquet is ready, the eternal dwelling places are prepared, the treasure houses of all good things lie open. The kingdom of heaven has been prepared for you from all eternity.

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Fedora doff to the Catholic Company, an on-line Catholic book and gift shop with headquarters in Charlotte, NC. They provide a daily newsletter with meditations, the daily readings for the Mass, a saint of the day, and links to the Divine Office/Liturgy of the Hours. This post's inspiration comes from today's e-mail.

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Originally published 4/20/2019.

Re-posted 4/11/2020.

Re-posted 4/3/2021.

Re-posted 4/16/2022.

"My Jesus, Mercy"

Good Friday marks the beginning of the Divine Mercy Novena.

Details about this devotion are here.

While justice will come, mercy will always be requested.

And aren't we sinners in need of it?

Seven Last Words: Completion

Christ Crucified Between Two Thieves by Rembrandt Harmensz van Rijn 

This continues a series of short meditations upon the statements made while Jesus hung on the Cross.

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"It is consummated." (John 19:30)

Many of you have or will hear and/or read these or similar words today.

His Hour has finally come. With the coming of the darkness, it seems as if the first day of creation was being undone. Is not, in fact, what has been really happening since His entry into Jerusalem six days ago? Genesis, redux. All of creation is being re-newed. Made new again.

But not by destroying it, as Satan tried to do to Him. Redeeming it with His death. Reconciling it with the Trinitarian Life. Gathering it as He did His Cross. Healing it with the stripes of the scourging. Washing it clean with the blood and water which will soon flow from His side. Offering it all back to the Father.

This new work of creation is done. God has said again, with His Word, it is very good. Jesus has done all He could. Like the groom and bride, Heaven and earth are once again united in a new and everlasting covenant.

No Greater Love.

"It is consummated."

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Originally posted 4/14/2006.
Re-posted 4/6/2007.
Re-posted 3/21/2008.
Re-posted 4/10/2009.
Re-posted 4/2/2010.
Re-posted 4/22/2011.
Re-posted 4/6/2012.
Re-posted 3/29/2013.
Re-posted 4/18/2014.
Re-posted 4/3/2015.
Re-posted 3/25/2016.
Re-posted 4/14/2017.
Re-posted 3/30/2018.
Re-posted 4/19/2019.

Re-posted 4/10/2020.

Re-posted 4/2/2021.

Re-posted 4/15/2022.

The Second Mile

Should anyone press you into service for one mile, go with him for two miles.

Matthew 5:41

Our Lenten journey is complete.

We have accompanied Jesus into Jerusalem. We have seen a foretaste of His burial. We have experienced His betrayal.

We have come this far with Him. But the journey is not complete. We have only gone the first mile, both in terms of Lent and Holy Week.

We are now on the threshold of the Sacred Triduum, the High Holy Days of Christianity. 

We still need to travel to the Upper Room, the Mount of Olives in Getsemani, the places where Annas and Caiaphas lived, the Praetorium, Golgotha (Calvary), and the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea. The Via Dolerosa awaits both Jesus and us.

The above verse is part of the Sermon on the Mount, where Jesus speaks about how not to retaliate. But this should also be our response to sin and evil--to endure the trials it takes to overcome them. And Who better to show the way?

I strongly encourage you to assist at the Church's liturgies (and whatever devotions are offered) the next three days. Avail yourselves of the graces and plenary indulgences associated with these prayers. May your journey into Easter joys find completion in these rite.

Before it was a fixed distance, 1,000 steps were considered a mile.

There are only a few more steps to take.

Take up your cross with Christ and make them. 

Seven Last Words: Wanting

Cristo Crucificado by Zurbaran

This continues a series of short meditations upon the statements made while Jesus hung on the Cross.

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"I thirst." (John 19:28)

Was this an echo of another conversation Jesus had earlier in the Gospel of St. John, when He asks the Samaritan woman to give Him water from Jacob's well? No one overheard that exchange; remember, the disciples were returning as she was leaving. But, this short statement hearkens back to that incident.

The entire story (John 4:4-42) has hints of the Passion. Jesus and the Samaritan woman met at about noon, the same time when Jesus was fixed to the Cross. While she wondered if He was greater than Jacob, recall the crowd who wondered if He was greater than Elijah. He was still hoping people would recognize Him, just as He began to reveal Himself to her (John 4:10). Her coming to believe echoed the words of the Centurion. But the greatest clue was in His words to her as she spoke of where true worship of God would take place, seemingly as a foreshadowing of what was to come (John 4:19-24).

Jesus has had nothing to drink since the Last Supper. His scourging drained much blood. His carrying the Cross sapped what little strength He was conserving. He had to be severely dehydrated. Yes, He thirsted.

But not for water. I have read somewhere His thirst upon the Cross is for the salvation of all. But, is it also possible that His human nature was thirsting to see the living God?

O God, you are my God whom I seek; for your my flesh pines and my soul thirsts like the earth, parched, lifeless and without water.

Psalm 63:2

Jesus, in His life and in His death, has an unquenchable desire to draw all to Him. Soon, it would be sated.

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Originally posted 4/13/2006.
Re-posted 4/5/2007.
Re-posted 3/20/2008.
Re-posted 4/9/2009.
Re-posted 4/1/2010.
Re-posted 4/21/2011.
Re-posted 4/5/2012.
Re-posted 3/28/2013.
Re-posted 4/17/2014.
Re-posted 4/2/2015.
Re-posted 3/24/2016.
Re-posed 4/13/2017.
Re-posted 3/29/2018.
Re-posted 4/18/2019.

Re-posted 4/9/2020.

Re-posted 4/1/2021.

Re-posted 4/14/2022.

Seven Last Words: Gifts Of Others

Crucified Christ, by Francisco Goya

This continues a series of short meditations upon the statements made while Jesus hung on the Cross.

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"Woman, behold thy son. . . .Behold thy mother." (John 19:26-27)

Although other accounts of the Passion mention other people near the Cross, it was the Blessed Virgin Mary and the disciple whom Jesus loved who had the courage to draw as close as possible in His agony. A love greater than their fear, they stood in the place of Adam and Eve, in a sense. In proxy of all humanity.

Jesus, in His humanity, would have never remembered the words of Simeon. Jesus, in His divinity, would have known them intensely. I don't think it is possible to determine who's heart was more broken at this moment; between the Son and the Mother, they both had to be aching infinitely.

Yet, in this moment of incredible anguish, love still abounds.

Jesus gave His Mother His adopted "children", those who worship in Spirit and Truth, those who Love as He demonstrated time after time, those who observe the Great Commandments, those who He has saved.

Jesus gave St. John, as the representative of His Church at this moment, the greatest example of what holiness is, the sign of what His grace can do in us, the model of what saying "yes" to Him means, the true meaning of what humanity is.

No small gifts.

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Originally posted 4/11/2006.
Re-posted 4/3/2007.
Re-posted 3/18/2008.
Re-posted 4/7/2009.
Re-posted 3/30/2010.
Re-posted 4/19/2011.
Re-posted 4/3/2012.
Re-posted 3/26/2013.
Re-posted 4/15/2014.
Re-posted 3/31/2015.
Re-posted 3/22/2016.
Re-posted 4/11/2017.
Re-posted 3/27/2018.
Re-posted 4/16/2019.

Re-posted 4/7/2020.

Re-posted 3/31/2021.

Re-posted 4/13/2022.

Seven Last Words: Utter Abandonement

Christ Crucified by Velazquez

This continues a series of short meditations upon the statements made while Jesus hung on the Cross.

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"Eli, Eli, lema sabacthani?" ("My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken me?") (Matthew 27:46b; cf. Psalm 22:2)

When the crowd heard this from Jesus, they responded by saying He was invoking Elijah. They must have forgotten Him saying there was Someone greater than Elijah amongst them. They also must have forgotten this was the opening line of a Psalm surely heard at times in their synagogues.

While all words in the Bible lead to the Word, some more than others point directly to Him. Psalm 22 is a case in point. Still a Teacher, still calling out to Israel to see Him as He truly is--their redeemer, Jesus leaves no stone unturned as His humanity begins to drain away. Indeed, as He said earlier in His ministry, this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.

Yet, how eerily these words echo in Heaven as well as on earth. A member of the Trinity, a union of Perfect Love, wondering out loud if He is no longer part of Them. Has God rejected Himself? The Begotten Son, forgotten? The Beloved, unloved? We can't fathom it.

Such is the Paschal Mystery. We can find the paradoxes. There are times when we seek answers to those contradictory questions. But, as Fr. John Powell, SJ, wrote in several of his books, we need to seek not peace of mind, but rather peace of heart. "Then God's own peace, which is beyond all understanding, will stand guard over your hearts and minds, in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:7)

Perhaps, Jesus thought of another passage to help His align His will to the Father's in this time of seemingly utter abandonment. It is a quote to quiet our souls and asks us to trust in the One Who is worthy of that trust. Maybe, just maybe, it helped Him in this moment.

"Be still, and know that I am God."

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Originally posted 4/12/2006.
Re-posted 4/5/2007.
Re-posted 3/19/2008.
Re-posted 4/8/2009.
Re-posted 3/31/2010.
Re-posted 4/20/2011.
Re-posted 4/4/2012.
Re-posted 3/27/2013.
Re-posted 4/16/2014.
Re-posted 4/1/2015.
Re-posted 3/23/2016.
Re-posted 4/12/2017.
Re-posted 3/28/2018.
Re-posted 4/17/2019.

Re-posted 4/8/2020.

Re-posted 3/30/2021.

Re-posted 4/13/2022.

Seven Last Words: The Promise

Crucifixion by Matthias Gruenewald

This continues a series of short meditations upon the statements made while Jesus hung on the Cross.

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"Amen I say to thee: This day thou shalt be with me in paradise." (Luke 23:43)

From the website Catholic Community Forum:

One of the thieves crucified with Jesus, the other being traditionally known as Gestas; Dismas is the one who rebuked the other, and asked for Christ's blessing.

An old legend from an Arabic infancy gospel says that when the Holy Family were running to Egypt, they were set upon by a band of thieves including Dismas and Gestas. One of the highwaymen realized there was something different, something special about them, and ordered his fellow bandits to leave them alone; this thief was Dismas.

While St. Joseph taught Him the skills of carpentry, Jesus was actually a farmer. Recall the Parable of the Seeds, the need for harvesters, the call to die to self in order to be fruitful. While He was very familiar with wood (first the Manger and now the Cross), He came to reap and gather the most precious crop of all--souls.

Seeds of grace are what He planted. Some sprouted quickly (St. Paul). Some needed nurturing (the Samaritan woman at the well). Some matured with the help of others (St. Augustine, thanks to St. Monica). Some died on the vine (Judas). Now, one which had laid dormant for some 30 years blossoms.

The Church teaches it is never too late to repent. Salvation is close at hand when sincerely sought.

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Originally posted 4/10/2006.
Re-posted 4/2/2007.
Re-posted 3/17/2008.
Re-posted 4/6/2009.
Re-posted 3/29/2010.
Re-posted 4/18/2011.
Re-posted 4/2/2012.
Re-posted 3/25/2013.
Re-posted 4/14/2014.
Re-posted 3/30/2015.
Re-posted 3/21/2016.
Re-posted 4/10/2017.
Re-posted 3/26/2018.
Re-posted 4/15/2019.

Re-posted 4/6/2020.

Re-posted 3/29/2021.

Re-posted 4/11/2022.

Seven Last Words: Lacking Knowing

Kreuzigung by Bernardo Daddi

This begins a series of short meditations upon the statements made while Jesus hung on the Cross.

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"Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." (Luke 23:34)

One has to wonder how many times this thought crossed the mind of Jesus during His ministry before He uttered it at His crucifixion. Certainly not when people converted upon encountering Him, whether by His words or deeds. Certainly not when people asked Him in faith for something. And certainly not when He showed forgiveness through His words and deeds.

Yet, one will find example after example of those who "know not what they do." The Scribes and Pharasees debating Him. The rich young man walking away from His invitation. James and John asking for their seats. The crowds shouting their "Hosanna". Peter--well, pick an incident.

Judas Iscariot. Caiaphas. Herod. Pontius Pilate.

We, when we sin.

Yes, there are degrees of culpability. But, because of Original Sin, there is damage done to our wills and intellects. And it is that damage that does not allow us to truly realize in the very core of our being what our sinfulness does to us. It is in that sense we "know not what we do." It is the war within us mentioned by St. Paul.

Yet, is that not what metanoia is all about? Is that not why we, "with the help of Thy Grace," seek to uproot in our souls that which separates us from God? Is that not why we examine our consciences and seek the Sacrament of Reconciliation, to continue to strengthen what has been weakened?

It is the level of sanctity asked of us ("Be therefore perfect as your Heavenly Father is perfect."). It is the level of sanctity achieved by the saints. It is a level of sanctity we can have. The Son has asked the Father with the Spirit that this may be. It continues its fruition when we seek it.

"Father, forgive them."

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Originally posted 4/9/2006.
Re-posted 4/1/2007.
Re-posted 3/16/2008.
Re-posted 4/5/2009.
Re-posted 3/28/2010.
Re-posted 4/17/2011.
Re-posted 4/1/2012.
Re-posted 3/24/2013
Re-posted 4/13/2014.
Re-posted 3/29/2015.
Re-posted 3/20/2016.
Re-posted 4/9/2017.
Re-posted 3/25/2018.
Re-posted 4/14/2019.

Re-posted 4/5/2020.

Re-posted 3/28/2021.

Re-posted 4/10/2022.

"Words" Before The XII Station

It has been called the greatest Christian sermon ever.

It started about noon and lasted three hours.

Even after nearly 2,000 years, the scope and magnitude of what was preached is still being unpacked.

What I am describing is the crucifixion of our Lord and Saviour Jesus at Golgotha.

Between His being nailed to His Cross and His Death, the 11th. and 12th. Stations of a traditional Way of the Cross, He spoke eight sentences. Grouping two together, they became know as His "Seven Last Words". They have been a source of contemplation and meditation for centuries, They have even been set to music by some of the most famous composers of all time.

As has been the tradition in this infinitesimal corner of the universe, I once again offer my very humble considerations of what Jesus said. The format remains the same:  one set of "Words" from Palm Sunday to Holy Saturday, posted at "the hour of mercy". As always, I hope they inspire you to seek out those who provide more depth than what I have written.

The time has come.

His Hour has come.

Let us be at the most famous pulpit of all, with attentive ears, mind, heart, and soul.

April 2023 Morning Offering Prayer Intention

Here is the intention for this month when prayer the Morning Offering:

For a culture of peace and non violence. We pray for the spread of peace and non violence, by decreasing the use of weapons by States and citizens. 

(UPDATE--4/29/2023) A reflection for this intention is found here.