Prayer for Peace in the Holy Land

Prayer for Peace in the Holy Land at the Vatican

(with Pope Francis, Patriarch Bartolomew, Israel President Shimon Perez and Palestinuan President Mahmod Abbas)

Jewish Prayer (done in Hebrew)

Prayer of Nahman of Breslav

Lord of Peace,

Divine Ruler, to whom peace belongs!

Maker of Peace,

Creator of all things!

May it be Your will to put an end to war

and bloodshed in the world,

and to spread a great and wonderful peace over the whole world,

so that nation shall not lift up sword against nation,

neither shall they learn war anymore.

Help us and save us all,

Let us merit to cling tightly to the virtue of peace.

Let there be a truly great peace

between every person and his fellow,

and between husband and wife,

and let there be no division among people not even in the heart.

Let every person love peace and pursue peace

Always in truth and integrity

Let us never cling to division

Not even when it comes to those who do not agree with us.

Let us never shame any person on earth,

great or small

And may we merit to truly keep the commandment

to "love your neighbor as yourself,"

with an entire heart, body, soul and possessions.

And let what is written be fulfilled in us:

"I will grant peace in the land,

and you shall lie down, and no one shall make you afraid;

I will remove dangerous animals from the land,

and no sword shall go through your land."

God who is peace, bless us with peace!

Prayer for Peace from the Daily Service

Grant peace,

goodness, blessing, grace, lovingkindness, and mercy;

on us and all your people Israel and on the world.

Bless us all as one by the light

of Your countenance our Father.

For by the light of Your countenance,

You have given us O Lord our God,

a Torah of Life, loving kindness,

and righteousness and blessing

and mercy and life and peace.

May it be Your will to bless us all with Your Peace.

Christian Prayer

Prayer (done in Italian)

A reading from the prayer of Saint John Paul II

Let us turn with trust to God our Father,

who is merciful and compassionate,

slow to anger, great in love and fidelity,

and ask him to accept the repentance of his people

who humbly confess their sins,

and to grant them mercy.

Let us pray that contemplating Jesus,

our Lord and our Peace,

Christians will be able to repent

of the words and attitudes

caused by pride, by hatred,

by the desire to dominate others,

by enmity towards members of other religions

and towards the weakest groups in society,

such as immigrants and itinerants.

Let us pray for all those who have suffered offences

against their human dignity

and whose rights have been trampled.

Most merciful Father,

your Son, Jesus Christ, the judge of the living and the dead,

in the humility of his first coming

redeemed humanity from sin

and in his glorious return he will demand

an account of every sin.

Grant that our forebears, our brothers and sisters,

and we, your servants, who by the grace of the Holy Spirit

turn back to you in whole-hearted repentance,

may experience your mercy and receive

the forgiveness of our sins.

We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Let us pray:

Almighty God and Father,

give us the grace to come before you in humility

and beg your forgiveness for our offenses

against You and our brothers and sisters.

We have not been custodians of Your creation

and especially in Your Holy Land we have waged wars,

engaged in violence,

taught contempt for our brothers and sisters

and thus deeply offended You, Father of us all.

Give us the grace to recommit ourselves to "do justice,

and to love kindness,

and to walk humbly with your God" (Micah 6:8)

through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Prayer (done in Arabic)

A reading from the prayer of Saint Francis of Assisi

Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace;

Where there is hatred, let me sow love;

Where there is injury, pardon;

Where there is discord, harmony;

Where there is error, truth;

Where there is doubt, faith;

Where there is despair, hope;

Where there is darkness, light;

And where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, Grant that I may not so much seek

To be consoled as to console;

To be understood as to understand;

To be loved as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive;

It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;

And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

Let us pray:

Almighty God and Father,

gathered here together we ask You

to make us instruments of Your peace,

seeking justice, agents of pardon

and builders of reconciliation.

Open our hearts to be filled with Your spirit,

open our eyes to see Your image in everyone we meet,

open our hands to join with those of our brother and sisters

to build together a world in which all can live in peace.

Pour down your blessing on the Holy Land,

so that from there this peace

can spread to the ends of the earth,

in the name of Christ our Lord. Amen.

Muslim Prayer

Prayer (done in Arabic)

Praise be to God, who created the heavens and the earth, made darkness and light, brought everything out of nothing, created us as the best part of creation, formed us in the best of forms, bestowing on us hearing, sight, intelligence, and heart. Blessed be God, best of creators.

Oh God, to you all praise, O Lord, to you all praise, O Creator of the heavens and the earth, O You who know the unknown and the manifest, O Lord of everything and its sovereign, we testify that there is no god but You alone and You have no partner, we seek refuge in You from the evil in ourselves and the evil of Satan, his partners, his godlessness and his whispering, and we seek refuge in You from godlessness and want, and we seek refuge in You so that we do not bring evil upon ourselves or bring it upon anyone else.

O God, to You all praise, much praise, good and blessed, we praise You for all the grace bestowed upon us, seen and unseen, in religion or in the world, for Your graces cannot be counted or calculated, and we ask You, our Lord, that they last forever, be preserved and blessed, and that they might help us to remember You, thank You and worship You better, until we worship You, remember You and thank You as You desire, and to You all praise, O Lord, as befits the splendor of Your face and the greatness of Your power.

O God, You are all able and we are unable, You possess all and we have nothing, You know all and we know nothing, You know hidden things, we praise You, we thank You for all that You have showered upon us and all You have done so well for us in religion and in this world, to You praise, our Lord, in first things and in the hereafter, to You praise in good times and bad, to You praise until You are gratified and to You praise when You are satisfied, to You praise after satisfaction, there is no power and no strength but in You.

Prayer (in Arabic)

O God, our Lord and our God there is no god but You, You created us and we are Your servants, and we are committed to You as best we can, we take our refuge in You from the evil we have done, we return to You by the grace You bestow on us, and we return from our transgressions and our sins, forgive us, for there is no one who forgives sins except You.

O God, our Lord, God whose name is sanctified in the heavens, Your command is in the heavens and on earth, as Your mercy is in the heavens, so let Your mercy be manifest on earth, forgive us our transgressions and our sins, You are the Lord of those who are good, pour down upon us Your mercy, Your pardon, Your goodness and Your healing, Most Merciful of the merciful.

O God, inspire us to tell the truth, to do good, to instruct in virtue, to put an end to what is forbidden, seeking Your generous face, O Master of splendor and honor, so that we do only good for the good of all, all people, removing injustice from the oppressed, so that we may receive Your mercy which encompasses all things, and help us, O Lord, to do right with what is right, in matters of justice and charity, and put an end to indecency, all that is forbidden, evil, injustice and aggression.

O God, we seek refuge in You from going astray or being led astray, from slipping or causing others to slip, from doing wrong or suffering wrong, from committing aggression or having aggression committed against us, forgive us for whatever sins we have committed in all of this, O Most Merciful of the merciful, for our hope is in Your mercy, and we fear Your retribution, do not put us among the unjust violent ones, O Lord of the worlds, help us to come to the assistance of the unjustly oppressed, so that we are granted in this Your mercy, Your pardon and Your satisfaction.

Prayer (in Arabic)

Praise to God, merciful, compassionate, king, holy, peace, faith, sovereign, precious, mighty, proud, creator, maker, former.

O God, You are peace, and peace is from You, and to You peace returns, You are blessed and You are glorified, O Master of splendor and honor, inspire us, O Lord, with peace and reveal to us peace and make us dwellers in the realm of peace, among those who do not live in fear or sorrow.

O God, we seek refuge in You from injustice and oppression, from illegitimate aggression, and we ask You, our Lord, to make us rightly guided, not going astray nor leading astray, believing in You and trusting in You, guide us, O Lord, to the most preferred of words, guide us, O Lord, to the most perfect of acts, guide us, O Lord, to the best of morals, for no one can guide to this except You, and You are able to do all things.

O God, make us, O Lord, keys to all that is good, locks to all that is evil, we ask of You what is good and proper, that You provide us with safety, peace, security and faith, for us and for our peoples, our families, our fathers and mothers, our sons and daughters, and for all humanity and all nations, and all creatures in Your great creation, give us, O Lord, in this world good, and in the Hereafter good, and protect us from the torment of the fire.

O God, bring about peace in the land of peace, O Master of splendor and honor, and remove injustice against the oppressed in this land, feed its people who hunger, and secure them against fear, and keep them from evil and evil doers, from unjust aggressors, O Lord of the Worlds.