Moment of Oneness, April 15, 2026 - Prepared by Deb Trees

 Meeting ID: 815 0755 1772
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Hope for Peace

The sign of the Cross. The Shield of Protection and Love.

In the name of Peace and Love and Grace.

God, come to my assistance. Holy One, make haste to help me.

Welcome and Opening Prayer: Dear friends in Jesus and the Way. Friends of the Upper Room. We are here tonight in Hope and Dedication to our Faith. We meet Weekly to be together and to pray mid-week, promoting peace and calm for ourselves and therefore for our world. Our work’s are needed now. Our actions speak volumes, including this action of prayer and moment of oneness. We have less than a week, just six days before the end of this ceasefire between Iran and The United States of America. Let us pray together and follow one of our own moral leaders. May it be so.

Our first reading: From “Letters from [Pope] Leo”, by Christopher Hale.

Last week, When the pope said “the holy name of God is being dragged into discourses of death,” he was naming the blasphemy at the heart of this war: the claim that the God of life endorses the killing of thousands.

Leo then turned to the question of who is threatening death — and who is worshipping it.

“Those who pray do not kill or threaten with death,” the pope said. “Death enslaves those who have turned their backs on the living God, turning themselves and their own power into a mute, blind, and deaf idol — to which they sacrifice every value, demanding that the whole world bend its knee.”

The language drew from the prophetic tradition of Isaiah and Jeremiah — the denunciation of idols fashioned by human hands that cannot see, hear, or speak. Leo applied that ancient framework to the present with unmistakable precision. A leader who demands the whole world bend its knee to his power has fashioned himself into a false god, mute to the cries of those being killed, blind to the children in the rubble, deaf to the voices calling for peace.

“Enough of the idolatry of self and money,” Leo said. “Enough of the display of power. Enough of war. True strength is shown in serving life.”

From the Substack work, Letters from Leo by Christopher Hale.

Let’s have a moment of silence as we contemplate these words.

Deb- As Roman Catholics, we have been asked to pray for Peace, to pray for a permanent solution to this war, and to stand up in our faith with action.

Calling our congresspeople,

voicing our concern,

praying for Peace.

Taking a moment of silence every day at noon.

A moral leader is standing up and showing the way.

May we as people of hope and faith respond in prayer, action and faith. Amen.

Please bring forward and share any intentions you may have…

In the name of the Holy One, our Creator and Field of Peace, we ask for these intentions with love and hope. Amen.

Let us pray the prayer of Jesus.

O Holy One who is within, around and among us.

We celebrate your many names.

Your wisdom come, Your will be done. Unfolding from the depths within us.

Each day, you give us all we need. You remind us of our limits, and we let go. You support us in our power, and we act with courage.

For you are the dwelling place within us. The empowerment around us, and the celebration among us, Now and forever, Amen.

(Adapted by Miriam Therese Winter.)

Our Final Blessing:

“Grant us your peace,” Pope Leo IX said, “as you did to the disciples who were hiding in fear. May the madness of war cease, and the earth be cared for and cultivated by those who still know how to bring forth, protect, and love life.”

May we have a peaceful night and a restful sleep. Amen.