Van Peter Millar’s hand verscheen weer een ‘Candle in the window’. Natuurlijk weer tegen de achtergrond van de oorlog in Oekraïne. Hier vind je de woorden terug die me raakten in de verwarring en zoektocht die deze oorlog met zich meebrengt:

We have faith. We have courage:
We give our thanks for our existence: we recognise that we rely on forces beyond our understanding. We trust what this life brings: we trust ourselves: we trust our friends: we trust our families: we trust life: we trust the universe.

We release our past to the past: we release our future to the future: we accept our present: we give up our cares and fears.

We abandon our illusions of control. We acknowledge our complete dependence on providence and on the guiding Spirit. We relinquish our apprehension. We rely on that which we often do not fully understand.
We have faith. We have courage.

Keep us from all fear today. Open our hearts to the gifts of the moment and bind us to the One who holds us all in struggle and in hope.
And may the promise that those who trust in the Lord will always find their strength renewed echo in our hearts and minds this day and every day.

(The basic structure of these words, although I have adapted them, I found in the book: Always We Begin Again: The Benedictine Way of Living by John Mc Quiston. Morehouse Publishing http://www.morehousepublishing.com ISBN 0-8192-1869-3.)

We will meet when the danger is over
We will meet when the danger is over,
we will meet when the sad days are done;
we will meet sitting closely together
and be glad our tomorrow has come

We will join to give thanks and sing gladly,
we will join to break bread and share wine;
and the peace that we pass to each other
will be more than a casual sign.

So let’s make with each other a promise
that when all we’ve come through is behind,
we will share what we missed and find meaning
in the things that once troubled our mind.

Until then may we always discover
faith and love to determine our way.
That’s our hope and God’s will and our calling
for our lives and for every new day.
(From the Norwegian of Hans-Olav Moerk)