Welcome to the second week of Advent! Last week, we began our journey by lighting the candle of Hope. We thought about how light pushes back the darkness and heard Isaiah’s dream of turning “swords into ploughshares.” This week, we move to the second purple candle on our Advent Wreath: Peace. The world can often feel like a noisy, angry, or confusing place. But the story continues—we aren’t just hoping for a better world; we are asked to help build a peaceful one.

This week, we light the second purple candle on the wreath. This is the candle of Peace.

We invite you to start with the Sign of the Cross.

Response: In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen

A reading from the Prophet Isaiah

The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion together, and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze, their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. They will not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain; for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.

The Word of the Lord.

R./ Thanks be to God

Last week, the Prophet Isaiah told us to swap weapons for farming tools. Today, he gives us another strange and beautiful picture. In the wild, wolves eat lambs and lions eat oxen. It’s the way of nature. But Isaiah suggests that in God’s “Peaceable Kingdom,” everything changes. It isn’t just about people stopping fighting; it is about a total change of heart. It is about enemies becoming friends (“the wolf shall live with the lamb”). The message here is that no conflict is too big to be healed. If a lion can lie down with a calf, then surely we can try to make peace with the people we find difficult in our own lives.

Discussion Questions:

• Why do you think the writer uses animals to explain peace?
  
• Where in your life do you need to find peace and what brings you peace in your day.
  
• What does a “peaceful school” look like to you?
  

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Advent Peace Quiz – Click Here