The Hour of Illumination - Peace at Noon

War. Poverty. Illiteracy. Sex-trafficking. Addiction. Depression. Unemployment. Disease. To be true, much of our world is not at peace. And often I find myself overwhelmed by the weight it all. What can I do? Where do I put my energy? How might I lighten the load?

Lately I have been feeling especially overwhelmed.  I've been reading Ashley Judd's memoir, All That is Bitter and Sweet.  Her experiences in working with women caught in the cycle of poverty and forced prostitution and her own stories of childhood neglect and depression split my heart wide open.  My heart then wanders to the orphans in the world and then to my friends who are struggling as single moms and then to my "neighbors" living in Reading, so many dealing with unemployment, poverty, drugs.  Where is the peace?

Then yesterday I stopped at one of my favorite places of tranquility, the Jesuit Center only fifteen minutes from my home, for a Midday prayer.  Macrina Wiederkehr calls the Midday pause the "Hour of Illumination" and notes that its themes are commitment, passion, faithfulness, and peace.  As I wandered through the grove with its tall trees and little statues, I came upon a leafy canopy of green hovering above three benches and a brick patio.  A Crucifix was hanging at the far end of this little hideout, and I sat myself beneath the one who is known as the Prince of Peace.  I opened my prayer book and read this prayer:


"In this the hour of the noonday sun,
we raise our hands to the Peaceful One.
This is the hour to pray for peace,
for kindness and compassion to increase.

So let this be the hour of release.
Let us bow to each other and pray for peace.
Let this be our promise. Let this be our song.
We will be the peace for which we long.

Before we share our noonday meal,
our deepest hungers let us feel.
This is the hour for peace to flower.

Let us be the peace, Let us be the peace."

~Macrina Wiederkehr 

Seven Sacred Pauses, pp. 101-102

Yes, I long to be a part of the Peace.  I am quite aware that each soul can either add or take away good to the world.  How fitting it was that I was sitting beneath the Prince of Peace during this prayer.  I allowed him to be my teacher as I began to meditate on how Jesus lived Peace while walking on earth.  These were my thoughts:

He sought peace (stealing away for inner-peace with his Father).
He taught peace (to those within his influence).
And he walked peace (in dealing with his enemies).
It struck me then; Jesus never forced peace.  For how can peace be forced?

So this is the example I seek to follow.  As much as I or anyone would love to wave a magical wand over all of the heartache in the world, Peace does not behave magically.  It begins as a small seed in the soul and it grows into a fragrant flower for the world.  Perhaps all I can do is continue to seek inner-Peace with the God of Love; I can also try to teach peace within my influence (mostly to my children right now); and I can walk the walk of peace (in my relationships, in my community, and in the world) as best as I am able today.

Sometimes that walk of peace means not acting in frustration when I am feeling frustrated.  Sometimes it is advocating for the poor and oppressed.  Sometimes it is holding an area of the world in my heart with compassion and hope.  Sometimes it is being a peaceful presence amid a friend's storm. And sometimes it is walking the grounds of the Jesuit Center, allowing my own soul to find its way back to Peace again.

What does your walk of Peace look like?  At least for today?