by Leela Ramdeen, Chair, CCSJ and Director, CREDI
Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God (Beatitudes)
Sr Monica Tywang, shared with me recently the hope that filled her heart as she participated in the Vigil of Prayer for Peace at St Martin in the Fields,Londonto proclaim the first day of the 2012 Sacred Olympic Truce. The vigil, which commenced at 10:00 p.m. on Friday, June 8, ended at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, June 9.
There were 204 white doves on a rainbow wall hanging suspended above the altar. Each dove represented a country participating in the 2012 Olympics. Paper doves were given to participants as they entered the Church and they were asked to write a prayer for peace on their dove and place it in a basket at the back of the Church. The prayers “were collected during the concluding liturgy and distributed to people at the end of the Vigil as a way of ensuring that their prayers for peace continue throughout the Olympics and Paralympics.”
Members of the World Congress of Faiths read Peace messages at the Vigil that concluded with a Service led by Faith leaders and representatives, including Archbishop Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster. I have known him for many years, since the days when I was Vice-Chair of the late Cardinal Hume’s Committee for the Caribbean Community (C5). Cardinal Hume was the Chair of C5.
Thich Nhat Hanh’s words uttered during the Vigil are offered for reflection. He is a Vietnamese Buddhist monk, teacher, author, poet and peace activist who lives in exile inFrance:
“We often think of peace as the absence of war, that if powerful countries would reduce their weapon arsenals, we could have peace. But if we look deeply into the weapons, we see our own minds – our own prejudices, fears and ignorance. Even if we transport all the bombs to the moon, the roots of war and the roots of bombs are still there, in our hearts and minds, and sooner or later we will make new bombs…To prepare for war, to give millions of men and women the opportunity to practice killing day and night in their hearts, is to plant millions of seeds of violence, anger, frustration, and fear that will be passed on for generations to come…To work for peace is to uproot war from ourselves and from the hearts of men and women.”
The Vigil also launched 100 Days of Peace, which runs from June 8 to October 28 – 50 days before the Olympics and Paralympics and 50 days after. This is “a joint project of the Catholic Dioceses of Brentwood, Southwark andWestminster, involving the Education Departments and Justice & Peace Commissions, in partnership with Pax Christi, London Citizens, More Than Gold and the 2012 Office of the Catholic Bishops of England andWales.”
Archbishop Vincent Nichols of Westminster, Archbishop Peter Smith of Southwark, and Bishop Thomas McMahon of Brentwood, leaders of three Londondioceses, rightly remind us that Peace is Jesus’ defining gift and legacy: “My peace I leave you, my peace I give to you.”
Schools were given a resource book: Release Peace (see: http://www.peacelegacy.org.uk) which teachers can use to prepare children/youth in “the creation of a culture of peace for the games… and a legacy beyond.” 100 Days of Peace encourages all of us to make circles of peace around our neighbourhoods, our parishes, and our country/world. You can also access via the link above a Handbook to help parishes plan events for the 100 Days of Peace.
My great-niece’s school engaged students in making a Peace Wall and in planting trees for peace as part of a Peace Project which students are encouraged to pursue during their summer vacation e.g. by doing a good deed each day.
I have been educating the young ones in our family in Londonabout the Olympic Truce or Ekecheiria which can be traced back to the origins of the first recorded Olympic Games held in Olympia, Ancient Greece in 776BC when three kings signed a treaty. “Since 1992 every Host Nation of Winter and Summer Olympic Games has declared the Truce…The Truce does not aim to bring about Peace to all generations for all times. It offers a small opportunity to demonstrate to the world that unity, peace and harmony are possible amongst the peoples and nations of the world. The Olympic Truce is symbolised by the dove of peace with the traditional Olympic flame in the background” (getset.london2012.com). May peace fill our hearts and our world.
