For war, and for the peace of one’s own house

For a world at war and a heart that is not at rest.

Peace in Catholic language is not merely the absence of shooting; it is the tranquillity of order — things in their right relation. So the same prayer covers a war on the news and a quarrel at your own table.

Prayer for Peace in the World

God of all nations,
You made us of one blood and set us on one earth.

Stop the wars we are fighting.
Protect the children in them,
the families in shelters and queues,
the wounded, the taken and the missing.

Give courage to those who negotiate,
and shame to those who profit.

Turn the hearts of those who have the power to stop this and will not.

And where I have made war on a smaller scale —
in my family, my work, my speech —
begin the peace with me. Amen.

Prayer for Peace of Heart

Lord, give me peace: not the kind that comes from nothing going wrong,
but the kind that holds when things do.

Quiet what is agitated in me.
Settle what is unresolved.
And let me stop rehearsing the arguments I am not having. Amen.

Our Lady, Queen of Peace

Queen of Peace, pray for us.
St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle.
St. Francis, make us instruments of peace.

About This Prayer

This page is distinct from the Peace Prayer of St. Francis — Make me an instrument of your peace — which the site publishes separately. Both are worth praying; that one asks to become a peacemaker, this one asks for peace to come.