Dona Nobis Pacem

The title of this post is actually a song title as well, and one you may know (whether you realize it or not). It translates from Latin as "Give Us Peace." It's been in use as a prayer for centuries, and it's a simple request each of us can pray daily: "Dona nobis pacem, Domine." Give us peace, Lord.

As I write this today, the headlines are swirling in chaos. A shooter opened fire on congressional Republicans at a baseball field. A huge apartment structure in London, U.K. burst into flames, killing at least six. Investigations continue into the 2016 presidential election (and the current president). Churches are in annual meetings discussing splits and loss of members. A company in Australia now turns unwanted human embryos into jewelry. A province of Canada passed a law allowing the government to take away children from parents who refuse to raise their child as his/her "preferred gender," calling it child abuse to raise a boy as a boy and a girl as a girl if they'd rather be the other before they even hit puberty.

The world is in chaos. As W.B. Yeats wrote in his poem "The Second Coming":

Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,

The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere

The ceremony of innocence is drowned; The best lack all conviction, while the worst Are full of passionate intensity.

It certainly seems the world is falling apart as anarchy and chaos rise, innocence is lost, good men do nothing, and evil increases daily. We need peace. And peace can only come from God, the only center which can ever remain true and stable.

Peace is listed as one of the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23). Only those who are born again can know true peace, and only we can share that peace with a world which so desperately needs it. We should pray for peace. Pray that the world may accept God's love and know His peace.

Dona nobis pacem, Domine. Dona nobis pacem.