Catholic Nonviolence Days of Action

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2022 is the third year of the Catholic Nonviolence Days of Action (CNDA), celebrated between 21 September, the International Peace Day and 2 October, the International Day of Nonviolence and Gandhi’s birthday. This is a busy time for all of us, with the Season of Creation, Campaign Nonviolence, and the Week of Prayer for Peace in Palestine & Israel all taking place during the same period. 

The theme for 2022 is: “Blessed is every step toward nonviolence.” Acknowledging that a life of nonviolence is a process that takes daily work, we invite you to take steps that broaden your understanding of its many facets, steps that deepen your faith in the nonviolent message of the Gospel, and steps that increase your engagement as we build a nonviolent world for all of God’s creation.

Please visit the Catholic Nonviolence Initiative website for information and resources.

Day One: Reflect on the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:3-12)

Day Two: During the week of Prayer for Peace in Palestine and Israel, share good news stories of the Palestinian community showing faith and hope in their search for justice. (PG)  Ideas can be found here: https://www.oikoumene.org/events/world-week-for-peace-in-palestine-and-israel

Day Three: With young people in your life, share the story of a person/saint who lived/s with hope and nonviolence: Martin of Tours, Francis of Assisi, Clare of Assisi, Rosa Parks, Greta Thurberg, Amanda Gorman…. others from your own tradition/country

Day Four: Download “Making active nonviolence our way of life,” a tool and resource from the Catholic Nonviolence Initiative

Day Five: Learn more about a just peace approach to critical situations.

Day Six: Do you have a copy of “Advancing Nonviolence and Just Peace in the Church and the World”? Find purchasing options here and download a free study guide here. The guide includes discussion questions that are useful even for those who have not yet read the book.

Day Seven: Share a copy of Pax Christi International’s policymaker’s tool for effective, nonviolent strategies for sustainable peace with your elected officials.

Day Eight: Host a viewing of “The Sultan and the Saint,” a film about St. Francis and his transformative friendship with Sultan al-Kamil of Egypt.

Day Nine: Join the Pax Christi International/USG-UISG online prayer service for Creation

Day Ten: With friends or family, take a walk to a place where an act of violence has happened in your area.  Pray for those who suffered and for those who acted in violence.

Day Eleven: Ask your worship community to use the Eucharist for Gospel nonviolence, prepared by the Gospel Nonviolence working group of the Association of Catholic Priests of the United States; disponible en español; disponible en français

Day Twelve: Make a short personal retreat with the Pax Christi/CNI video “Retreat on Gospel Nonviolence”

Day Thirteen: Take the vow of nonviolence with your community and reflect on what the  five ‘calls’ mean to you in your life 

  • strive  for peace within myself and seeking to be a peacemaker in my daily life;
  • refuse to retaliate in the face of provocation and violence; 
  • persevere  in nonviolence of tongue and heart;
  • live conscientiously and simply so that I do not deprive others of the means to live;
  • actively resist evil and working nonviolently to abolish war and the causes of war from my own heart and from the face of the earth