Prayer for peace

Title

Prayer for peace

Language

English

Year

1947

Rights

In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted

Fulltext

PRAYER fOR PEACE ·• FRANCISCO OPIANO J A VINES Former Etem. School Principal The Prince of Peace is born To bring a haunting glimpse of heav~m And angels sing of peace on earth __ _ Hut is there peace ___ y 0 Lord, there is no peace and never has there been When Mat7li desires ·to make his peace without Thy b!.essing; to measure peace in terms oj wasteful pleasure; to barter Roman peace with "bread and circus"; .or buu a Munich peace with base appeasement; to fight and kill for peace but not to live it, to mold and forge his peace with ca.nnons, chains, and bombs to build his peace not in the hearts of men but o'er the rotting carri.on of a million graveless dead, Amidst the ruins of a ravaged, blood-soaked land Watered by the tears of son~ss mothers, fatherless children., By ravished, haggard, and hungry womeT~rA sullen, deflowered, de-generation. As for goodwill? It's catted diplomacy, ct sugared name for plain hypocrisy, For goodwill does not thrive When man knows not the wilt to goo<i And men would scorn. the Will of God; When peace on earth is but a parody, A chaotic confusiOn of wrangling Between periodic chaos of fighting; When man would set before himself A t/1ousand gods and shibboleths; The god of money and the machine, The god of work and wordly wisdom. 1'he god of capital and labor, The god of "isms" and "ologies, .. Of super-(lfficiency and regimentation, And the Great God "I": · Tor through all the lesser gods, man worships himself alone, .·. And c minion self-worshipping men are a. million self-made gods, Each supreme unto himself, each a cru.cifier of Peace __ _ 26 I / · And Peace is lost unto the eart --And Man, the Conqueror of Peace, enthrones himielf ' And sits under a modern Sword. of Damocles, While all of life becomes a bare existence, A breathing spell beneath the gloomy shadow, Cast bl/ that ominous Watchdog of the World, I, That man-made monster, marvel of destruction, ' That dreaded and 11et doubtful might of pres2nt right, That evil ;ustified, the devii's own delight, tM grim Atomic Bomb! So teach us peace, Oh Lord, and help us live that peace; The peace of simple creatures fulfitling nature's mandates; The peace of busy bees and thriftv, laboring ants; The quiet peace of farmers laboring in the field' fearing no lust of an overseer; The noisy peace of city workers, manning their machines, dreading no boss or union dues; . The peace that clasps the feeble hand of an unknot.On., or salves the dirt11 wounds of the unwashed; The peace that sings bv flower scented springs, or drinks the wonders of a dew-clad dawn; The peace that .bows a sweet-blest brow upon the peal of Angetur, Or smiles upon a slumbering child; The peace that knows no creed, nor caste, nor color; The peace of Freedom. Truth, and Broth~rhood; The pea-ce of strong, stout-hearted men and pure, true-hearted women; The peace of mind and heart, the lasting, God-blest peace: the Peace within ourselves and with ourselves __ _ Far peace we prav. Oh Lord, but grant us above all The simple souls to feel and live that peace, the humble h.ea.rts to cherish and possess: The riches one can reap by selfless, gainless giving, The wilt to change existence into living; The strength to conquer all the forms of fear, Tha gift to mint a laughter from a tear! FOR MODERN OPTICAL NEEDS-sEE KEEPSAKE CPTICAL-80 Esqolta 27

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