Easter Message 2026
from Brother David
This year as well, you are receiving an Easter letter from Br. David .
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“One Minute for Peace”
The European Network for Grateful Living sent an email that began with the following quote:
Simply pausing for a few moments
and opening ourselves
to the power of love that moves the universe.
The essence is to be still and to bless,
to pause and to give thanks.
Pause and bless. Pause and give thanks.
(Br. David Steindl-Rast, from Music of Silence: Living in the Rhythm of the Hours)
Message
Let me admit it, dear friends:
Quite often, when I see the suffering and destruction of our poor world, I nearly despair. And yet, spring bursting forth these days with such elemental power gives me new courage.
A single forsythia bush against the blue sky is enough to convince me that life is more powerful than death. And in the Easter liturgy we celebrate on an even deeper level that same power stirring within each one of us.
May we let it flow through us into the whole world. I trust that it is strong enough to heal every wound and to fill all that is dead with new life.
Your brother David
Br. David Steindl-Rast will turn 100 on July 12 (in just under 100 days). Throughout his life, he has been an advocate for peace and justice and has emphasized the importance of moments of silence in our lives.
For this reason, you are invited, for 100 days, to take one minute each day to pause, to be awake and present, and to consciously choose peace and reconciliation in your heart.
Because our thoughts evoke feelings, and our feelings shape how we act. Every good thought and every good feeling is a small gesture—one that, together with others, leads to something much greater.
You can participate by taking one minute each day at 4:00 PM, from April 3 to July 12, to sit or walk in silence in your own way.
Alternatively, you may join by praying the Peace Prayer of the European monastery Gut Aich, which is prayed each day at the end of the afternoon meditation.
You can also listen to Br. David as he recites the Peace Prayer in German, English, and Spanish.
The peace prayer of Europakloster Gut Aich
Brother David Steindl-Rast reads the peace prayer of Europakloster Gut Aich (German/English/Spanish)
英語での朗読は01:18より始まります。
日本語訳
全能にして恵み深く、あわれみに満ちた神よ、
善き意志を持つすべての人々とともに、
この世界に平和がもたらされ、すべての人の心に触れ、
私たちに平和と和解の思いをお与えくださるよう祈ります。
すべての人のいのちへの畏敬の念を、
すべての民族、宗教、国々のいのちへの畏敬の念を、
そして創造という賜物への畏敬の念を、
どうか私たちの心に注いでください。
平和への願いが憎しみに打ち勝ち、
報復が和解へと道を譲ることができますように。
すべての人が、自らがあなたの子であり、
あなたの愛を注がれている兄弟姉妹であることを知り、
私たち皆がこの愛のうちに生きることができますように。
恵み深き神よ、
私とすべての人を、あなたの平和の器としてください。