# Show Us Your Peace: Opening Our Hearts to God in Advent
*2015-12-18*

> Bill Young reflects on the Advent reading from Colossians, celebrates Pope Francis’s birthday, and prays for peace in a world torn by conflict.

## Celebrating Pope Francis and Mother Teresa

Good evening, this is Bill Young, welcome to Prayer and Lunch. Today is Friday, the third week of Lent, and also Pope Francis’s 79th birthday. We pray for him and thank God for his ministry. We also rejoice that Mother Teresa will be canonized next September; the second miracle has been approved.

## Advent Scripture: Colossians 3:15

Our Advent reading comes from Colossians 3:15: “And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.” This verse reminds us that Christ’s peace is to govern our hearts and unite us as one body of believers.

## Opening Our Hearts to God—Praying Through Advent with Pope Francis

In this season we are using the small book “Opening Our Hearts to God: Praying Through Advent with Pope Francis.” The theme for today is “Show Us Your Peace.” We pray, “Prince of Peace, help us. Grant us peace, teach us peace, guide us toward peace. Open our eyes and our hearts, and give us the courage to say, ‘No more war!’ Make us willing to listen to the cries of those who ask that our weapons be transformed into instruments of peace.”

## A Prayer for Courage and Trust

We ask God to replace our fears with trust, to turn the anxiety of the world into a confident hope in Christ’s peace. May we, as a community, become instruments of that peace, listening to the needs of our neighbors and working for a world where conflict gives way to reconciliation.

*May the peace of Christ rule in our hearts, guiding us to transform weapons into instruments of peace.*