A link to Dialogue and Peace
Brother Vito Verhelst, a Little Brother of Jesus and a Belgian national who died on April 1, 2001 in Manila, at the age of seventy-two was a passionate promoter of the Harmony Prayer. A Little Sisters of Jesus, who assisted him in the hospital up to his last moment, told me, “Fr., before dying, Brother Vito told us to continue your Chain of Harmony and Peace. These were his last words.”
S.D. (From Manila)
Indeed, prayers do move mountain. More than ever, with the specific intentions of the people who pray– PEACE is still a priority especially for the people in Mindanao whom up until now are still crying for peace. I would like to inform you that the Harmony Chain Initiative is living to its legacy as set expectations for those who have encountered Silsilah and experience it in their lifetime.
It is an awesome experience to keep this movement of praying come alive — especially if it keeps binding the people together.
J.D. (From Cagayan de Oro)
I am happy and grateful that I had the opportunity to join Silsilah and be touched by the Harmony Chain. I started to share the beautiful prayer to my community and to the urban poor leaders in my area in Davao. I realized after working for 25 years with the informal settlers, liberation comes when there is a bridge – Spirituality to feed and sustain our dreams for development and for social transformation.
M.A.T. (From Davao)
We believe in peace through a spiritual approach. Peace starts from God because peace is a gift from God. The work for peace is a work entrusted by God to all humankind, whatever race, culture, religion, level of education. Solidarity and development are also essential to build peace. We want to start from the spiritual values of each people and religion for a more sustainable peace.
Where there is lack of faith in God, an absence of a spiritual dimension, there is also lack of comprehension and harmony. Tension, division, violence, conflict in the families, in the community, among friends, among societies and nations will surely follow.
Prayer for peace is good, but not enough! “The goal of peace on earth will come not without some personal pain. But the effort to make peace in our homes, in our personal relationships and at work, puts flesh and bones on prayers for peace”.
To pray for peace is demanding and at the same time transforming our lives. If we are unwilling to work to help peace break out in our homes and in our lives, then why should we surprised that our prayers for peace seem to go unheard by God?
The Harmony Prayer is an answer or a prevention to a conflict. Reconciliation is necessary after a conflict to build peace. To live in dialogue and harmony with God, self, the others and creation is the way to avoid conflicts! Therefore, let us not wait for war to think about peace! Accumulating offences, hurts, unforgiveness will only escalate conflicts and accompanying terrible damages. Accumulating seeds of understanding, patience, attention to the needs of the others, sharing, solidarity, etc…will preserve in families, working places and communities. Let us work for peace through dialogue if we don’t want war!
HC is not only in the context of Christian-Muslim dialogue. HC is not only in the context of Christian-Muslim dialogue; it is also in the context of every intercultural and inter-religious dialogue. We need dialogue in the life of couples, among families, among communities (whether civil or religious), among groups and movements, in a pluralistic society with many nationalities living together in our global village.
Dialogue for better understanding is a present necessity of our world. Peace of heart above all, peace in the family to avoid conflicts.
is a special interfaith initiative of meditation and prayer for dialogue and peace from Mindanao to the world. It is a spiritual chain of peoples of different cultures and religions responding to God’s dialogue with humanity to sustain our cry for peace. When the Philippine Government through then President Joseph Estrada declared “total war” in Mindanao in the year 2000 as a solution to the Moro problem, the Movement’s quiet response was expressed in the slogan “Cry Peace with Your Life-in-Dialogue.The Harmony Prayer Initiative is: AN INTER-FAITH INITIATIVE OF MEDITATION AND PRAYER FOR DIALOGUE AND PEACE. A SPIRITUAL CHAIN OF PEOPLE OF DIFFERENT CULTURES AND RELIGIONS. A RESPONSE TO GOD’S DIALOGUE WITH HUMANITY TO SUSTAIN OUR CRY FOR PEACE.
Individuals, groups, and communities from different religions within and outside the country can become part of this “chain” by committing to specific time of the day to meditate or pray for peace. The goal is that every moment of the 24 hours of the day, some persons, groups or communities all over the world are united in prayer for peace. The much needed impetus came when a director and a coordinator volunteered to give full time on this activity. At present, the membership has grown from local to international level and regular communication and links are maintained through its monthly newsletter “IN-TOUCH” and “ Legame di Pace” (in Italian). [Read more…] about Harmony Chain Initiative from Mindanao to the World
Harmony Prayer in Italian Version
Preghiera Dell’Armonia
O Signore Ti supplico per la pace,
purifica i miei occhi perché possa
vedere la pace,
purifica la mia mente perché possa
comprendere la pace,
purifica il mio cuore perché possa
amare la pace,
purifica la mia memoria perché possa
lavorare per la pace;
quella pace che proviene dal Tuo amore
e dalla Tua misericodia.
O Signore,
sostieni il mio sguardo di pace,
seguendo ciò che Tu mi ispiri,
Tu hai molti modi per rivelare
la Tua presenza
e il Tuo amore per l’umanità
ma il Tuo stile è costante:
essere in dialogo con tutti,
prenderti cura di tutti.
O Signore,
fá che io sia segno della tua pace:
vivendo in dialogo con Te,
io possa comprendere il tuo silenzio
e cercare la tua presenza;
vivendo in dialogo con me stesso
io possa scoprire il significato
della mia vita;
vivendo in dialogo con gli altri
io possa camminare
in armonia con tutti;
e vivendo in dialogo con il Creato
io possa prendermi cura della Terra.
O Signore, dammi il coraggio
di vivere in dialogo
in mezzo alle divisioni e ai conflitti
e costruire la pace
insieme a tutte le persone
di buona volontà
che credono nel Tuo amore e
nella Tua misericordia.
Amen.
In the year 2000 when President Estrada declared “Total war in Mindanao” the Silsilah Dialogue Movement ”declared” another way to achieve peace and in our little way we proposed, among the other activities of formation for Dialogue and Peace, the ”Harmony Chain Initiative” which is an inter faith invitation for dialogue and peace. A powerful way of peace. Muslims, Christians, Buddhists, and others are invited to be part of this “Chain of Prayer”. The initiative is in line with the spirit of Silsilah to promote dialogue and peace starting from a spiritual approach of life-in-dialogue as a foundation for any sustainable peace.
Today we are still “Crying for Peace” in Mindanao and in the World and we continue the mission of prayer proposing, among the other suggestions, to use the “HARMONY PRAYER” as part of the initiative of the Harmony Chain Initiative. We dream that in the world the twenty-four hour time will be covered by a chain of prayer for peace and we hope that the Harmony Prayer will become part of the many efforts of prayer around the world.
Today the Harmony Chain Initiative and the Harmony Prayer is already spread in many countries. We have links with those who promised to join us on this initiative from many countries. In the Philippines we have many who are linked to this initiative and pray the Harmony Prayer, thanks to many institutions, and schools, Muslims and Christian leaders and government and non-government organizations.
The Harmony prayer is a UNIVERSAL PRAYER. In this Oasis news we wish to highlight the full support of OPAPP sharing the answer of Secretary Teresita Quintos Deles to the letter of Fr. D’Ambra Sebastiano, the founder of Silsilah. In her letter she emphasized:….. “I would also like to thank you as well for your solidarity in celebrating the National Peace Consciousness Month for the month of September.
Please know that OPAPP still continues to use the Harmony Prayer that the Silsilah Dialogue Movement crafted, such as during our Flag Ceremony and other OPAPP-led events. It is likewise posted in our website and is also included in some of our publications and collaterals. OPAPP likewise distributed copies of the prayer to all national government agencies, and are reminded annually to use it in solidarity with peace during the month of September. Rest assured that we will continue to use and promote the Harmony Prayer in all of our future endeavors.”
We are grateful for this renewed support and we are more challenged to continue to promote the “fighting with prayer”.
Indeed, this is the time to find appropriate solutions for peace in the world and specifically in Mindanao. The alarming news about the ISIS fighters and other “fighters”, even in the Philippines, for sure, alarms us, but we do not have to lose hope. We have to believe that most of the Muslims and Christians, especially in Mindanao, are for peace and all of us have to enter in the spirit of living together in peace. If we can give this example it will have a great impact, not only for us in Mindanao, but also for the world. From many countries people and leaders of the world are following the peace process in Mindanao and the new effort of the Bangsamoro. We support this peace effort that still requires a lot of wisdom from those who have the respectability to decide for the future peace in Mindanao and a lot of courage to believe that it is possible to promote the future peace together. Saying this, we know that there is still fear in many, for different reasons. We hope that, meanwhile, all possible obstacles will be properly overcome. We reaffirm our effort to promote the Harmony Prayer and we hope that many will internalize the message of this prayer and have the courage and the trust in the power of prayer.