Perseverance in Peacemaking

Photo by Dan Dakotas

As I and other sisters of Mount St. Scholastica left our Night of Dreams celebration in Kansas City yesterday, we passed by Liberty Memorial, which was lit up with images of poppies in honor of the 100^th anniversary of the conclusion of World War I. The sisters who founded the Mount arrived in Atchison on November 11, 1863, during the Civil War, and in our 155 years here we have prayed for peace during World War I, World War II, the Korean conflict, the Vietnam War, the war in Afghanistan, and Desert Storm I and II, along with innumerable worldwide conflagrations and genocides.

It might seem as though our prayers have been ineffective. However, as Steven Pinker has noted in his book The Better Angels of Our Nature, “The number of people killed in wars is close to its lowest point since 1946.” That is small comfort given the number of people who do die in war each day, particularly in the Middle East and Africa, but it does show that efforts to prevent and contain war, fueled by compassion and prayer, can make a difference. The way of peacemaking is the way of perseverance.

A verse from our morning prayer today instructs us in how to foster peace: “Listen today to God’s voice: ‘Harden no heart, harden no heart.’” Forbearance and the determination to remember that we are all part of the body of Christ—all beloved of God, despite our actions—is the only way to defuse violence and spread peace instead of furthering conflict. As Paul said in his letter to the Colossians, “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.”