Peace Therapy
Abbey Press
Foreword
“Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.” So begins the well-known prayer of St. Francis of Assisi.
For a time, Francis lived the life of a knight, which, for all its chivalry and romantic ideals, also included battles and prisons. It was in prison that Francis embraced a new mission, a mission that we might today call “Peace Therapy.”
He turned from an outer knighthood that protected the peace of Assisi to an inner commitment to become a person of peace. As he grew in peace, he was able to tame a wolf, challenge a sultan, and greet the violence of Sister Death with a word of welcome.
Reflecting on our own place in God’s peace, we can see how every global conflict begins with fear, envy, anger, mistrust, and deceit.
How can we decry violence on our streets and war in foreign lands when our hearts harbor the same feelings of aggression? We can expect the outer world to mirror our inner turmoil—and it does.
Peace Therapy