As often happens when families gather around the table for a meal, even to celebrate holy days born out of the love of God, like Easter, discussions often become heated arguments with anger sending family members into other rooms to get away from the fray.

This year, the topic was guns and violence in our schools. Listening to the pendulum of opinions swing from one point of view to the other, with more and more force, was exhausting, and disruptive of any peace I may have felt on the occasion of Easter. So, I was the one who left the room.

As I reflected on the problem from a safe distance, I remembered that Pope Francis’ prayer intention for the month of April was for a culture of peace and non-violence. He shared, “We pray for the spread of peace and nonviolence by decreasing the use of weapons by states and citizens.”

Sometimes, I thought, sarcastically I’ll admit, the words we use are among the worst weapons.

In a press release for this month’s papal intention, Jesuit Father Frédéric Fornos, international director of the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network, said: “In the face of the violence of our time, Francis proposes a whole month to pray ‘for a more widespread culture of non-violence’. Peace among peoples begins, in fact, in the most concrete and intimate part of our hearts, when I meet my neighbors in the streets …

“When I see their face, their gaze, especially those who come from elsewhere, those who do not speak my language and do not share my same culture, those who are ‘strange’ in their attitudes and are thus called ‘foreigners.’ War and conflict begin here and now, in our hearts, every time we allow violence to replace justice and forgiveness.”

How can we help our students to appreciate the need for peace, to understand that peace starts in the hearts and minds of every person? What can we do in our classrooms to address the violence that exists in our communities, country, world, and, often, in our hearts?

These are questions, and responses, that need to be carefully evaluated for age-appropriateness. Teachers are the best guides for determining what children are prepared to understand and respond to positively.

Some steps, for any age, include:

• Prayer. Praying one decade of the Rosary with an intention for peace – in schools, in homes, in communities and countries. Add a closing Scripture quote about peace:

• Glory to God in the highest and peace to his people on earth. Lk 2:14
• The Lord says, "Into whatever household you enter, first say, 'Peace to this household.'" Lk 10:5
• The Lord says, "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you." Jn 14:27
• For family and friends I say, "May peace be yours." Ps 122:8

• Involve students in a peace art or writing project, limited only by teacher and student creativity, and available space for display. Visibility is important as a reminder that we must keep our eyes on peace if there is ever to be any.

• Help students evaluate their own attitudes, words and actions and how they sometimes contribute to bad feelings, division, and conflict. Even young students are beginning to understand, with help, the consequences of how they treat others. For students who have received the Sacrament of Reconciliation, help them to make an examination of conscience, as a means of building peace in their own hearts and encourage them to take their insights to Confession.

• Ask students to identify peacemakers in their families and among their friends. Discuss the qualities of a peacemaker. Talk about some of the saints known as peacemakers – St. Theresa of Calcutta, St. Catherine of Siena, St. John Paul II, and others. Check out this slide show from Aletia on five Catholic saint peacemakers.

• Using religion curriculum guides, have students find symbols of peace, and discuss what they stand for: eg. dove with olive branch.

Pope Francis quote for teacher reflection: “Living, speaking, and acting without violence is not surrendering, losing or giving up anything, but aspiring to everything.”

About the Author
Mary Clifford Morrell, mother of six and grandmother to ten, is a Catholic journalist, editor, and author who has served the Dioceses of Metuchen and Trenton, New Jersey; Burlington, Vermont, and RENEW International in the areas of religious education and communication.