by Alberto Quattrucci

Prayer as a source of peace is a complex theme. The circumstances in which
we live make a difference. How can we be united in prayer,
how can prayer be a source of peace for us?

The first and the main "action" of each religion is prayer. Prayer, we can affirm, is the original act of the man and the woman of faith; it is what makes the difference between one religious experience and every other human intellectual, rational, or perceptive activity. Prayer, even if different according to various ritual attitudes and cultural traditions, is always the spiritual language of each human being. Everyone, young or old, rich or poor, man or woman, European or Asian, graduate or ignorant, everyone is always - until the last breath - able to express a personal prayer toward God or the Buddha or the Almighty. To pray is for all people the best activity to preserve their own humanity. Praying is what differentiates the human being from the beast.

When we talk about prayer, there is no doubt that it includes the one who is praying, the believer, and the one who listens, God. To man as the most perfect of God's creatures, created in his own image and his own likeness, has been given the ability and the freedom to communicate with his Creator. This communication starts with the same words the Creator taught him, like a real and good parent. The miracle in the creation of man is not his ability to talk but his ability to communicate in a conversation with God.

Rightly, then, prayer can be considered a conversation with God. The prayer, as conversation with the creator of the universe, is the biggest privilege that has been given to man.

Conversation implies dialogue, knowledge, trust, esteem, and so on, like any other relationship that we, as people, know and live every day. But not only this: Jesus taught his disciples to relate to God as their parent with the word "Father" (Matt. 6:9-13). The prayer, as conversation with the Creator, is, in the end, fellowship with the Father.

Let's imagine a group of primary school children when they meet face-to-face with the headmaster. They instinctively feel at the same time insecurity and fear, except one of them: he is the headmaster's son. Behind the figure of the headmaster, serious and sometimes strict, he sees the beloved person for him, his father. Headmaster and father; a strange combination, but for a child it is not complicated at all. His father is the headmaster, and the headmaster is his father; it's as simple as this. What do we want to say with this?

God is our Creator, he is holy, omnipotent, omnipresent, eternal, and so on, but he is most of all our Father; it's as simple as this. In the Gospel, according to the Christian tradition, Christ tells those who are listening to him that to enter the kingdom of heaven they need to become like children (Matt. 18:2). The relationship with God asks first of all for honesty, simplicity, and confidence even from "grown-up" people.

God and the believer, the Creator and the creature, the Father and the child; God in his majesty becomes small and in his limitlessness becomes limited, in his transcendence becomes tangible, and this, brothers and sisters, becomes real through prayer. Prayer is man's cry to the Creator, it's his cry to the Father: "O Lord, God of my salvation, I have cried day and night before thee." This is the old prayer of the Psalms, according to the Jewish tradition. Man feels the compelling need to communicate with his Creator. His goal is to meet him; his completeness is the union with him; his longing is satisfied only in his presence.

We could think of man's pilgrimage on earth as a quest to find the Father, his goal being to come back to him, to stay near him. In this trip, a person is not alone. In his search for God, man is not lost: the Father himself is looking for the person. During his journey, the believer feels the help and the strength God is giving him, feels the courage and the support derived from him.

Prayer, as the strength of the believer, is rooted in this relationship of fatherly love. In prayer the believer turns to his heavenly Father, he feels his presence, he is confident that his prayer is being heard. He knows that the Father listens to all his sighs; he is convinced that even in frustration and despair his Father will be there to help and comfort him.

In prayer - in the Christian religious experience as in every other religious attitude - is hidden much love. Evagrio the Recluse considers prayer to be "the flower of kindness and of the freedom from anger." In prayer, mothers find the answer for their children, artists their inspiration, the faithful their strength. There is hidden the mystery of salvation, there is hidden God himself. In prayer we find what we have lost, the one we have been longing for. Here is wonderfully explained the mystery, and I believe we all will agree that the most beautiful prayers are those of children.

It's a bit strange, but every time we think back on things and concepts that we think are very familiar and clear for us, we find out the opposite!

We can ask ourselves: "What is prayer?" Is it a request, praise, or an obligation? We all agree that it is all of them. But I would not disagree if someone answers that prayer is also "the way." It helps us not only to ask properly, not only to learn some rules or to shape an interior discipline. In prayer all of these things can rightly be considered means through which we come to that which is most important: knowledge.

I would like to talk about prayer as knowledge, as an effort, as a quest of the believer to discover God, to know the Father as his parent. Our research is concrete; our journey has a concrete destination; the person we want to meet is real and living. There the believer finds the security of his salvation, discovers the meaning of his life and of his existence, and feels the divine love and the eternal joy that cannot be compared with worldly feelings.

Rightly so, prayer directs us to the Creator, moves us closer to him, and keeps us in his presence. Through prayer we are illuminated and become light. For this reason prayer could be considered the greatest occupation, the most precious engagement, the most fully human activity. It guides us to knowledge, it reveals things in simplicity, and in it everything is hidden. Prayer lifts the believer from the depths of the earth to the heavenly realms. Prayer, as conversation with God, as fellowship, as a journey, as knowledge, is the motive of the believer, is his strength.

Mostly referring to the extraordinary and peculiar experience of the International Meetings - Peoples and Religions, promoted since 1987 by the Community of Sant'Egidio in order to continue to live and to spread the "spirit of Assisi" (the historic World Day of Prayer for Peace summoned by Pope John Paul II in 1986, in the city of Saint Francis), I would like to stress the significant and deep link that exists between "prayer" and "commitment to peace."

In all the yearly Appeals for Peace, proclaimed at the conclusion of each interfaith meeting promoted by the Community of Sant'Egidio, it is very strongly remarked that religions are for peace and against every kind of war. We can read in the last Appeal (Cyprus, November 18, 2008) the following: "Regardless of their differences, our religious traditions strongly testify that a world with no spirit will never be human: they cry out that spirit and humanity should never be trampled on by war; they beg for peace. They want peace, they beg for it, they implore peace from God through prayer. Religions are aware that talking of war in God's name is meaningless and blasphemous. They are convinced a better humanity will never come from violence and terrorism. They do not share the pessimistic belief in the inevitable clash of religions and civilizations. Religions hope and pray that a true community of peace will be established among peoples and within humanity."

Thus prayer as a source of peace is a complex theme when we consider the circumstances in which we live. It certainly makes a difference if we live in Iraq, in the Palestinian territories, or in tranquil Nordic countries. But we all long for peace in our lives. How can we meaningfully pray together and be united in prayer, how can prayer be a source of peace for us?

In the Jewish, Muslim, and Christian traditions, God is the orientation point of prayer. Praying is coming before God. We also have in common that peace is a name for God. God is Peace. But the peace of God is not tranquillity at a distance from a troubled world and our chaotic lives. The God of Peace is involved in our lives, in the matters of our world.

In the Buddhist tradition we can see that "hatred is never conquered by hatred; hatred can only be conquered by nonhatred." Buddhist prayer embodies the noblest healing power, coming from the Buddha's heart and the wishes of all living beings. In Buddhism, we speak of prayer as the great vow of the Buddha. In the Lotus Sutra, a Mahayana Buddhist sutra of the greatest importance to us, the Buddha makes a vow of his wish that all living beings attain buddhahood, awakening to a state of perfect freedom and working to help other beings. This wish is something that everyone possesses deep inside. Thus, the Buddha's vow is the same as the wish that springs forth from one's innermost being.

How, then, is the Buddha's vow related to peace? The Buddhist ideal state of perfect freedom, nirvana, is interpreted as harmony or peace. In this sense, the Buddha makes a vow that all living beings shall live in harmony. "Harmony, or peace, is essential for human life. The existence of all life depends on the crucial notion of harmony. Harmony is a hope that all human beings hold deep in their hearts." So prayer must be prayer for the overcoming of hatred and violence. With nonviolent attitudes, we should have reverence for our neighbors, even those who seem wicked, as in the case of enemies.

Where there exist injustice, social inequality, hatred, distrust, and vanity among nations that threaten world peace and where there is intolerance of other human beings, religions do their utmost to contribute to peace and avoid conflict. As such, every true religious experience cannot avoid participating in multinational dialogues concerning peace, freedom, brotherhood, love, and justice in society as well as between nations. This has been done so that it can enlighten people in the spiritual realm and serves the purpose of uniting people worldwide. We strive for dialogue between nations and vigorously promote the idea of human rights on a religious base. The unity of the human race springing from the archetypal couple of creation creates a fountain of the virtues of freedom, fairness, brotherhood, and justice in society. We believe that the murder of human beings by any means and especially by wars is contrary to their dignity and to the holiness of God. All human beings are sacred because they have been created in the image and likeness of God the Father. We thus seek to preserve and foster the common good of society, which sometimes may require that we render would-be aggressors harmless and unable to inflict suffering and pain, which are the result of wars they may perpetrate.

Wars and conflicts are to be condemned, as they bring injustice and evil with them, and should be avoided at all costs. Religions must be the custodians of peace, and peace is synonymous with justice. We underscore the fact that spiritual gifts depend to a large extent on human cooperation. The Spirit provides spiritual gifts when the human heart lifts itself toward God, when there is atonement, and when people request the justice of God in their lives.

Religions have to support peoples in all parts of the world who are deprived of peace and who are driven away from their homes because of their beliefs. Religions do not therefore hesitate to declare that they are totally against all forms of arms procurement and military buildup, because this in itself will lead to the destruction of creation and remove all vestiges of human life. Especially nuclear war must be outlawed, not only because of millions of deaths that will inevitably result, but also because of the destruction of the environment. Nuclear war will result in never-before-witnessed disease and sickness and genetic changes that will afflict humanity and all life for centuries, so that forthcoming generations will live a life not worth having. Nuclear war will create a nuclear winter where the climate will change life on earth as we know it, and all life will perish.

I would like to underline something regarding the Christian and, more in general, the monotheistic religious traditions. God as the king of justice condemns any stance of humans toward fellow human beings that is inhumane. In his kingdom, which begins here on earth and has a spiritual character, there is no place for ethnic intolerance and hate, no matter what enemies may exist. We maintain that those who serve in the armed forces of nations are in truth the servants of freedom and security and can contribute to the common good of society at large. We pray that God will guide them in all their activities so that they may be honorable members of society. We condemn war, as it indiscriminately destroys towns and cities and lays waste to vast tracts of land while killing millions of people. It is a crime against God and humanity. The Christian faith, more specifically, believes that God created all the races from common blood and that there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor freeman, male nor female, but all are equal in Jesus Christ. The church does not accept any division in any shape or form between the human races and their rights, which should be the same: all the inhabitants of the earth are equal.

In conclusion: if God is the orientation point of prayer, and God is Peace, how can we then come before him without being changed and transformed by him - into peace receivers and peacemakers? As the Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard used to say: "Prayer does not change God, but it changes those praying." Saint Francis of Assisi taught us to pray:

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace:
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
And where there is sadness, joy.