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.

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Day 1 – Day 1 – The Peaceable Kingdom

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.

Day 2 – Quiet in the Storm

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.

Last week, we listened to music about finding “something to rely on” when the world feels overwhelming. This week, we take that one step further. Peace isn’t just about what happens between countries; it’s also about what happens inside our heads. Sometimes our minds feel like a storm—full of worry about grades, friends, or the future. The Catholic tradition promises a peace that goes deeper than just “quietness.” It is a sense of being safe, even when things are difficult.

We are going to listen to a classic song about finding peace even when we find ourselves “in times of trouble.”

Reflection: As you listen to the track today, we aren’t going to have a group discussion. Instead, use these As you listen to the track today, we aren’t going to have a group discussion. Instead, use these three minutes to just be still.

As the music plays, ask yourself these questions in the silence of your own mind:

• “When I find myself in times of trouble…” – what is the “trouble” or worry on my mind today?
• Can I try to “let it be”—to let go of the stress of trying to fix everything and just breathe for a moment?
• Who are the people who speak “words of wisdom” or bring comfort to me?

Sit comfortably, close your eyes if you wish, and let the music help you find that quiet place inside yourself. Spend some time if you wish collecting your thoughts and reflections for your scrap book.

Spend some time if you wish collecting your thoughts and reflections for your scrap book.

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Day 3 – Building the Light

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

Last week, we started creating our Giant Advent Wreath on the Chaplaincy Hub wall by adding our “Flames of Hope”. It has begun to glow! But the wreath is not finished yet. Today, we light the second section: Peace.

As you write, you are turning that worry into a wish or a prayer for peace. We will add these to the wall next to our hopes, watching the light grow brighter as we get closer to Christmas.