June 23

Today in many places in Europe, people celebrate Saint John’s Eve, which often involves lighting bonfires and carrying torches, the light of which is supposed to scare away evil. Tomorrow traditionally marks the birthday of John the Baptist (six months before Christmas). 

Today also marks Okinawa Memorial Day. In the Battle of Okinawa during World War Two, around 300,000 people lost their lives: 50,000 of the Allied Forces, 100,000 Japanese, and 150,000 citizens of Okinawa. 240,000 of their names are inscribed on a war memorial called “The Cornerstone of Peace.” 

Reflection:

Some wisdom about peace: 

Black Elk said: “The first peace, which is the most important, is that which comes within the souls of people when they realize their relationship, their oneness with the universe and all its powers, and when they realize that at the center of the universe dwells the Great Spirit, and that this center is really everywhere, it is within each of us.”

Thomas Merton said: “Peace demands the most heroic labor and the most difficult sacrifice. It demands greater heroism than war. It demands greater fidelity to the truth and a much more perfect purity of conscience."

Hafsat Abiola said: “Peace comes from being able to contribute the best that we have, and all that we are, toward creating a world that supports everyone. But it is also securing the space for others to contribute the best that they have and all that they are.”

Prayer: Spirit of Peace, we have lived with war for so long that we have become helpless in the face of it. But this learned helplessness is not our true nature. Place in us and among us a peace beyond our understanding. Amen.