Peace of mind, peace in a household, peace between peoples.
Cited background on how traditions meet this moment, with no ritual instructions. The texts further down come from named editions and were checked against them; none has yet been signed by a reviewer credentialed in its tradition. How that works.
A prayer for peace can mean three different sizes of request: quiet for one racing mind, calm in one strained household, or an end to a war reported from far away. The traditions have carried all three for centuries, and it shows in ordinary speech. Shalom, salaam, and "peace be with you" were blessings before they were greetings, and in several liturgies the last word spoken over a congregation is peace. Jewish daily prayer closes its central blessing with a petition for peace, Muslim ritual prayer ends with words of peace spoken to either side, and most Christian services pass peace from person to person by name.
The traditions also examine, rather than assume, the link between inner and outer peace. Hindu practice speaks the word shanti three times, which teachers explain as naming disturbance from within oneself, from other beings, and from the wider world. Buddhist teaching treats a settled heart as the root of peaceful conduct. Jewish liturgy asks peace for the person, the community, and the world in a single breath. This shared vocabulary matters practically: at a vigil, a hospital bedside, or a tense dinner table, peace language is one of the few registers people of different convictions can enter together without anyone pretending agreement. Most people arriving at this page are looking for exactly that, words that neither ignore a conflict nor take a side in it.
Across traditions
Awareness-level notes: what this moment tends to involve, tradition by tradition. Each links to its background page.
Peace is spoken aloud in nearly every liturgical service: the sign of peace in the Catholic Mass, restored to congregations after the Second Vatican Council, and the passing of the peace in Anglican, Lutheran, and many other Protestant services. Eastern Orthodox worship opens with the Great Litany, often called the Litany of Peace. The historic peace churches, the Quakers, Mennonites, and Church of the Brethren, hold peace as a defining testimony, and Quaker worship is kept largely in silence. Practice varies widely by branch.
Shalom comes from a root meaning wholeness, and Jewish tradition hears in it wellbeing and right relationship, not merely the absence of conflict. It is a greeting, a farewell, and the closing word of central liturgy: the final blessing of the Amidah asks for peace in the forms known as Sim Shalom and Shalom Rav, and Oseh Shalom ends the Kaddish. A rabbinic teaching holds that the whole Torah was given for the sake of peace. Emphasis and melody vary by community.
Salaam, peace, sits inside the everyday greeting as-salamu alaykum and its reply, which Muslims understand as a brief prayer for the other person rather than a pleasantry. As-Salam, the Source of Peace, is counted among the names of God. Ritual prayer itself concludes with the taslim, words of peace spoken to either side. Personal supplication, du'a, for a calm heart, a safe household, or an end to bloodshed is common and takes no single fixed form.
Shanti, peace, is invoked at the opening and close of Upanishadic recitation and at the end of many rites, in verses known as shanti mantras. The word is traditionally spoken three times, which teachers explain as addressing disturbance from three directions: from one's own body and mind, from other beings, and from natural or cosmic forces. Households may end daily worship with such an invocation. Interpretation and practice vary considerably by lineage and region.
Inner peace is treated as trainable rather than granted, and a settled mind is understood as the ground of peaceful conduct. Metta, boundless goodwill toward all beings, is the first of the four brahmaviharas and the subject of the Karaniya Metta Sutta, one of the most frequently chanted texts of the Pali tradition. Communities also chant for calm and protection in forms that differ by school, and many welcome newcomers to sit without expecting them to recite anything.
The Ardas, the petitionary prayer that closes Sikh services and marks major family moments, ends with sarbat da bhala, a plea for the wellbeing of all humanity, not only Sikhs, and practicing Sikhs repeat it daily. Alongside it stands chardi kala, a discipline of uplifted spirit maintained even in adversity. Peace in this tradition is therefore both something asked for everyone without exception and a bearing a person works to keep.
The 1986 World Day of Prayer for Peace at Assisi, convened by John Paul II with Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh, and other leaders, set a widely copied pattern: being together to pray, each tradition in its own voice, rather than merging texts. Community vigils after violence often follow it, with readings on peace offered in turn. The United Nations International Day of Peace on September 21 gives such gatherings a shared civic date.
The minute of silence is the established secular form, used at memorials, in parliaments, and at noon on the UN International Day of Peace, and it asks nothing of anyone's beliefs. Non-religious people at vigils often contribute readings, music, or words of remembrance and commitment rather than petition. For peace of mind, many turn to secular mindfulness courses, time outdoors, or reflective writing. A shared silence lets a mixed room stand together honestly.
Texts from their published editions
Each text below comes from the edition named under it and was checked twice, independently, before it appeared. Neither check was a person. Where the two disagreed by even one character, the text is not shown here. That is a claim about wording only: these are not selected or endorsed for any particular situation, and nobody credentialed in the tradition has signed them. Older spelling is kept as the edition prints it. The full record, including the texts we held back because the two transcriptions disagreed, is at the verification record.
A ten-verse Pali discourse from the Suttanipata, opening "Karaniyam attha kusalena", setting out the conduct and the boundless goodwill a practitioner extends to all beings. It is one of the core paritta (protective recitation) texts across Theravada Asia, chanted at blessings, at sickbeds, at funerals, and used as the base instruction for metta meditation. Recited in Pali by monastics and laity alike.
English · The Sacred Books of the East, Vol. X: The Dhammapada and Sutta-Nipata, 1881Read twice, independently
Whatever is to be done by one who is skilful in seeking (what is) good, having attained that tranquil state (of Nibbana): — Let him be able and upright and conscientious and of soft speech, gentle, not proud,
And contented and easily supported and having few cares, unburdened and with his senses calmed and wise, not arrogant, without (showing) greediness (when going his round) in families.
And let him not do anything mean for which others who are wise might reprove (him); may all beings be happy and secure, may they be happy-minded.
Whatever living beings there are, either feeble or strong, all either long or great, middle-sized, short, small or large,
Either seen or which are not seen, and which live far (or) near, either born or seeking birth, may all creatures be happy-minded.
Let no one deceive another, let him not despise (another) in any place, let him not out of anger or resentment wish harm to another.
As a mother at the risk of her life watches over her own child, her only child, so also let every one cultivate a boundless (friendly) mind towards all beings.
And let him cultivate goodwill towards all the world, a boundless (friendly) mind, above and below and across, unobstructed, without hatred, without enmity.
Standing, walking or sitting or lying, as long as he be awake, let him devote himself to this mind; this (way of) living they say is the best in this world.
He who, not having embraced (philosophical) views, is virtuous, endowed with (perfect) vision, after subduing greediness for sensual pleasures, will never again go to a mother's womb.
V. Fausboll and F. Max Muller. Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1881. Published 1881, before 1929, US public domain, and both translators died before 1929. Source
Out of copyright in the United States on the basis stated here, and free to reuse there. Please keep the citation with it.
Wording and scope vary between editions and between communities, so this entry is tied to one named edition and makes no claim about which form is right in a given setting.
A Suttanipata discourse traditionally recited to avert illness, famine and other affliction, invoking the qualities of the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha as an asseveration of truth. It is a staple of paritta ceremonies in Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Thailand, chanted over the sick and at house blessings, often through the night by an assembly of monks.
English · The Sacred Books of the East, Vol. X: The Dhammapada and Sutta-Nipata, 1881Read twice, independently
Whatever spirits have come together here, either belonging to the earth or living in the air, let all spirits be happy, and then listen attentively to what is said.
Therefore, O spirits, do ye all pay attention, show kindness to the human race who both day and night bring their offerings; therefore protect them strenuously.
Whatever wealth there be here or in the other world, or whatever excellent jewel in the heavens, it is certainly not equal to Tathagata. This excellent jewel (is found) in Buddha, by this truth may there be salvation.
The destruction (of passion), the freedom from passion, the excellent immortality which Sakyamuni attained (being) composed, — there is nothing equal to that Dhamma. This excellent jewel (is found) in the Dhamma, by this truth may there be salvation.
The purity which the best of Buddhas praised, the meditation which they call uninterrupted, there is no meditation like this. This excellent jewel (is found) in the Dhamma, by this truth may there be salvation.
The eight persons that are praised by the righteous, and make these four pairs, they are worthy of offerings, (being) Sugata's disciples; what is given to these will bear great fruit. This excellent jewel (is found) in the Assembly (sangha), by this truth may there be salvation.
Those who have applied themselves studiously with a firm mind and free from desire to the commandments of Gotama, have obtained the highest gain, having merged into immortality, and enjoying happiness after getting it for nothing. This excellent jewel (is found) in the Assembly, by this truth may there be salvation.
As a post in the front of a city gate is firm in the earth and cannot be shaken by the four winds, like that I declare the righteous man to be who, having penetrated the noble truths, sees (them clearly). This excellent jewel (is found) in the Assembly, by this truth may there be salvation.
Those who understand the noble truths well taught by the profoundly wise (i.e. Buddha), though they be greatly distracted, will not (have to) take the eighth birth. This excellent jewel (is found) in the Assembly, by this truth may there be salvation.
On his (attaining the) bliss of (the right) view three things (dhammas) are left behind (by him): conceit and doubt and whatever he has got of virtue and (holy) works. He is released also from the four hells, and he is incapable of committing the six deadly sins. This excellent jewel (is found) in the Assembly, by this truth may there be salvation.
Even if he commit a sinful deed by his body, or in word or in thought, he is incapable of concealing it, (for) to conceal is said to be impossible for one that has seen the state (of Nibbana). This excellent jewel (is found) in the Assembly, by this truth may there be salvation.
As in a clump of trees with their tops in bloom in the first heat of the hot month, so (Buddha) taught the excellent Dhamma leading to Nibbana to the greatest benefit (for all). This excellent jewel (is found) in Buddha, by this truth may there be salvation.
The excellent one who knows what is excellent, who gives what is excellent, and who brings what is excellent, the incomparable one taught the excellent Dhamma. This excellent jewel (is found) in Buddha, by this truth may there be salvation.
The old is destroyed, the new has not arisen, those whose minds are disgusted with a future existence, the wise who have destroyed their seeds (of existence, and) whose desires do not increase, go out like this lamp. This excellent jewel (is found) in the Assembly, by this truth may there be salvation.
Whatever spirits have come together here, either belonging to the earth or living in the air, let us worship the perfect (tathagata) Buddha, revered by gods and men; may there be salvation.
Whatever spirits have come together here, either belonging to the earth or living in the air, let us worship the perfect (tathagata) Dhamma, revered by gods and men; may there be salvation.
Whatever spirits have come together here, either belonging to the earth or living in the air, let us worship the perfect (tathagata) Sangha, revered by gods and men; may there be salvation.
V. Fausboll and F. Max Muller. Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1881. Published 1881, before 1929, US public domain, and both translators died before 1929. Source
Out of copyright in the United States on the basis stated here, and free to reuse there. Please keep the citation with it.
Wording and scope vary between editions and between communities, so this entry is tied to one named edition and makes no claim about which form is right in a given setting.
The central Marian prayer of Latin Catholicism, built from the Lucan greeting plus a later intercessory petition fixed in the sixteenth century. It is the repeated unit of the rosary and of the Angelus, and it is the prayer most often said at a sickbed or deathbed. Recited by anyone, at any time, with no conditions of office or state.
Hail, Mary, full of grace; the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.
John Murphy and Company, Baltimore, 1889. Published 1889, before 1929, US public domain. Source
Out of copyright in the United States on the basis stated here, and free to reuse there. Please keep the citation with it.
Wording and scope vary between editions and between communities, so this entry is tied to one named edition and makes no claim about which form is right in a given setting.
A short petitionary prayer to Mary beginning "Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary", popularized in the seventeenth century and long associated with Claude Bernard. It is used at moments of acute distress and is a standard entry in indulgenced prayer collections. No restriction on who may say it.
REMEMBER, O most loving Virgin Mary, that never was it known that any one who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, and sought thine intercession, was left forsaken. Inspired with this confidence, I fly unto thee, O Virgin of virgins, My Mother. To thee I come; before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word, despise not my words, but graciously hear and grant my prayer. Amen.
John Murphy and Company, Baltimore, 1889. Published 1889, before 1929, US public domain. Source
Out of copyright in the United States on the basis stated here, and free to reuse there. Please keep the citation with it.
A short petitionary prayer to Mary beginning "Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary", popularized in the seventeenth century and long associated with Claude Bernard. It is used at moments of acute distress and is a standard entry in indulgenced prayer collections. No restriction on who may say it.
REMEMBER, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that any one who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, or sought thy intercession, was left unaided. Inspired with this confidence, I fly unto thee, O Virgin of virgins, my mother; to thee I come, before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful; O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions; but in thy clemency hear and answer me. Amen.
1910. Published 1910, before 1929, US public domain. Source
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An eleventh-century Marian antiphon, sung at Compline for much of the liturgical year and said at the close of the rosary. It is also sung at Catholic funerals, notably for clergy and religious. Widely known in Latin chant and in numerous English prose renderings.
Hail, holy Queen, Mother of mercy; our life, our sweetness, and our hope. To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve; to thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this valley of tears. Turn, then, most gracious Advocate, thine eyes of mercy towards us; and after this our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus; O clement, O pious, O sweet Virgin Mary.
John Murphy and Company, Baltimore, 1889. Published 1889, before 1929, US public domain. Source
Out of copyright in the United States on the basis stated here, and free to reuse there. Please keep the citation with it.
Vosotros pues, oraréis así: Padre nuestro que estás en los cielos, santificado sea tu nombre.
Venga tu reino. Sea hecha tu voluntad, como en el cielo, así también en la tierra.
Danos hoy nuestro pan cotidiano.
Y perdónanos nuestras deudas, como también nosotros perdonamos á nuestros deudores.
Y no nos metas en tentación, mas líbranos del mal: porque tuyo es el reino, y el poder, y la gloria, por todos los siglos. Amén.
Casiodoro de Reina and Cipriano de Valera, 1909 revision. 1909. Published 1909, before 1929, US public domain, and distributed as public domain by ebible.org. Later Reina-Valera revisions such as RVR1960 are in copyright and are not used here. Source
Out of copyright in the United States on the basis stated here, and free to reuse there. Please keep the citation with it.
Wording and scope vary between editions and between communities, so this entry is tied to one named edition and makes no claim about which form is right in a given setting.
Voici donc comment vous devez prier: Notre Père qui es aux cieux! Que ton nom soit sanctifié;
que ton règne vienne; que ta volonté soit faite sur la terre comme au ciel.
Donne-nous aujourd'hui notre pain quotidien;
pardonne-nous nos offenses, comme nous aussi nous pardonnons à ceux qui nous ont offensés;
ne nous induis pas en tentation, mais délivre-nous du malin. Car c'est à toi qu'appartiennent, dans tous les siècles, le règne, la puissance et la gloire. Amen!
Louis Segond. 1910. Published 1910, before 1929, US public domain; the translator died in 1885. Later Segond revisions such as Segond 21 are in copyright and are not used here. Source
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Wording and scope vary between editions and between communities, so this entry is tied to one named edition and makes no claim about which form is right in a given setting.
EL que habita al abrigo del Altísimo, morará bajo la sombra del Omnipotente.
Diré yo á Jehová: Esperanza mía, y castillo mío; mi Dios, en él confiaré.
Y él te librará del lazo del cazador: de la peste destruidora.
Con sus plumas te cubrirá, y debajo de sus alas estarás seguro: escudo y adarga es su verdad.
No tendrás temor de espanto nocturno, ni de saeta que vuele de día;
Ni de pestilencia que ande en oscuridad, ni de mortandad que en medio del día destruya.
Caerán á tu lado mil, y diez mil á tu diestra: mas á ti no llegará.
Ciertamente con tus ojos mirarás, y verás la recompensa de los impíos.
Porque tú has puesto á Jehová, que es mi esperanza, al Altísimo por tu habitación,
No te sobrevendrá mal, ni plaga tocará tu morada.
Pues que á sus ángeles mandará acerca de ti, que te guarden en todos tus caminos.
En las manos te llevarán, porque tu pie no tropiece en piedra.
Sobre el león y el basilisco pisarás; hollarás al cachorro del león y al dragón.
Por cuanto en mí ha puesto su voluntad, yo también lo libraré: pondrélo en alto, por cuanto ha conocido mi nombre.
Me invocará, y yo le responderé: con él estaré yo en la angustia: lo libraré, y le glorificaré.
Saciarélo de larga vida, y mostraréle mi salud.
Casiodoro de Reina and Cipriano de Valera, 1909 revision. 1909. Published 1909, before 1929, US public domain, and distributed as public domain by ebible.org. Later Reina-Valera revisions such as RVR1960 are in copyright and are not used here. Source
Out of copyright in the United States on the basis stated here, and free to reuse there. Please keep the citation with it.
One of the Songs of Ascents, a short psalm of protection for one setting out or in danger. Used in Jewish practice at times of travel, illness and childbirth, and included in some funeral and memorial orders. Often paired with Psalm 130 in visits to the sick.
Sefaria, from the Unicode/XML Leningrad Codex at tanach.us, 2026. Tanach.us states that all biblical Hebrew text on its site may be viewed or copied without restriction, and Sefaria labels this version Public Domain. Retrieved and verified 2026-09-02. Cite as: Psalms 121:1-8, Tanach with Nikkud, a digital edition of the Leningrad Codex, via Sefaria.org. Source
Out of copyright in the United States on the basis stated here, and free to reuse there. Please keep the citation with it.
Wording and scope vary between editions and between communities, so each edition here is named and this entry makes no claim about which form is right in a given setting. The two columns do not cover quite the same span: the Hebrew opens with the psalm's superscription, “A Song of Ascents”, which the English published here does not carry, because the two transcription passes over the JPS volume agreed only from the first verse proper.
One of the Songs of Ascents, a short psalm of protection for one setting out or in danger. Used in Jewish practice at times of travel, illness and childbirth, and included in some funeral and memorial orders. Often paired with Psalm 130 in visits to the sick.
English · The Authorised Daily Prayer Book, with a New Translation, seventh edition, 1904Read twice, independently
I lift up mine eyes unto the hills : whence will my help come ?
My help is from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth.
He will not suffer thy foot to slip : he that guardeth thee will not slumber.
Behold, he that guardeth Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.
The Lord is thy guardian : the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand.
The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night.
The Lord shall guard thee from all evil ; he shall guard thy soul.
The Lord shall guard thy going out and thy coming in, from this time forth and for evermore.
Simeon Singer. Eyre and Spottiswoode, London, 1904. Seventh edition, published 1904, before 1929, US public domain. The work first appeared in 1890 and the translator died in 1906, so it is also clear in life-plus-70 jurisdictions. Source
Out of copyright in the United States on the basis stated here, and free to reuse there. Please keep the citation with it.
Sefaria, from the Unicode/XML Leningrad Codex at tanach.us, 2026. Tanach.us states that all biblical Hebrew text on its site may be viewed or copied without restriction, and Sefaria labels this version Public Domain. Retrieved and verified 2026-09-04. Cite as: Psalms 121:1-8, Tanach with Nikkud, a digital edition of the Leningrad Codex, via Sefaria.org. Source
Out of copyright in the United States on the basis stated here, and free to reuse there. Please keep the citation with it.
Wording and scope vary between editions and between communities, so each edition here is named and this entry makes no claim about which form is right in a given setting. The two columns come from different publishers: Singer's prayer book prints its own facing Hebrew, and the Hebrew shown here is a Masoretic edition rather than Singer's, which is why it is named separately above. The Hebrew also opens with the psalm's superscription, “A Song of Ascents”, which the English published here does not carry.
The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? It is said twice a day from the start of the month of Elul through the autumn festivals, the season of repentance.
Sefaria, from the Unicode/XML Leningrad Codex at tanach.us, 2026. Tanach.us states that all biblical Hebrew text on its site may be viewed or copied without restriction, and Sefaria labels this version Public Domain. Retrieved and verified 2026-09-17. Cite as: Psalms 27:1-14, Tanach with Nikkud, a digital edition of the Leningrad Codex, via Sefaria.org. Source
Out of copyright in the United States on the basis stated here, and free to reuse there. Please keep the citation with it.
Wording and scope vary between editions and between communities, so each edition here is named and this entry makes no claim about which form is right in a given setting. The English keeps the line breaks of one digitisation of the 1917 volume. The second, which it was checked against, stores each verse as running text, so it confirms the words and cannot confirm where a line ends.
Sefaria, from the Unicode/XML Leningrad Codex at tanach.us, 2026. Tanach.us states that all biblical Hebrew text on its site may be viewed or copied without restriction, and Sefaria labels this version Public Domain. Retrieved and verified 2026-09-17. Cite as: Psalms 46:1-12, Tanach with Nikkud, a digital edition of the Leningrad Codex, via Sefaria.org. Source
Out of copyright in the United States on the basis stated here, and free to reuse there. Please keep the citation with it.
Wording and scope vary between editions and between communities, so each edition here is named and this entry makes no claim about which form is right in a given setting. The English keeps the line breaks of one digitisation of the 1917 volume. The second, which it was checked against, stores each verse as running text, so it confirms the words and cannot confirm where a line ends.
A short psalm asking God to be gracious and bless, so that all peoples give thanks. It is said at the close of the Sabbath, and in many communities during the counting of the Omer.
Sefaria, from the Unicode/XML Leningrad Codex at tanach.us, 2026. Tanach.us states that all biblical Hebrew text on its site may be viewed or copied without restriction, and Sefaria labels this version Public Domain. Retrieved and verified 2026-09-17. Cite as: Psalms 67:1-8, Tanach with Nikkud, a digital edition of the Leningrad Codex, via Sefaria.org. Source
Out of copyright in the United States on the basis stated here, and free to reuse there. Please keep the citation with it.
Wording and scope vary between editions and between communities, so each edition here is named and this entry makes no claim about which form is right in a given setting. The English keeps the line breaks of one digitisation of the 1917 volume. The second, which it was checked against, stores each verse as running text, so it confirms the words and cannot confirm where a line ends.
Sefaria, from the Unicode/XML Leningrad Codex at tanach.us, 2026. Tanach.us states that all biblical Hebrew text on its site may be viewed or copied without restriction, and Sefaria labels this version Public Domain. Retrieved and verified 2026-09-17. Cite as: Psalms 91:1-16, Tanach with Nikkud, a digital edition of the Leningrad Codex, via Sefaria.org. Source
Out of copyright in the United States on the basis stated here, and free to reuse there. Please keep the citation with it.
Wording and scope vary between editions and between communities, so each edition here is named and this entry makes no claim about which form is right in a given setting. The English keeps the line breaks of one digitisation of the 1917 volume. The second, which it was checked against, stores each verse as running text, so it confirms the words and cannot confirm where a line ends.
The Traveller's Prayer (Singer 1904), as it appears in the edition cited below.
English · The Authorised Daily Prayer Book, with a New Translation, seventh edition, 1904Read twice, independently
May it be thy will, O Lord our God and God of our fathers, to conduct us in peace, to direct our steps in peace, to uphold us in peace, and to lead us in life, joy and peace unto the haven of our desire. O deliver us from every enemy, ambush and hurt by the way, and from all afflictions that visit and trouble the world. Send a blessing upon the work of our hands. Let us obtain grace, lovingkindness and mercy in thine eyes and in the eyes of all who behold us. Hearken to the voice of our supplications; for thou art a God who hearkenest unto prayer and supplication. Blessed art thou, O Lord, who hearkenest unto prayer.
And Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him. And when Jacob saw them, he said, This is the camp of God : and he called the name of that place Mahanaim (a double camp). Behold, I send an angel before thee, to keep thee by the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared. The Lord bless thee, and keep thee : the Lord make his face to shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee : the Lord turn his face unto thee, and give thee peace.
Simeon Singer. Eyre and Spottiswoode, London, 1904. Seventh edition, published 1904, before 1929, US public domain. The work first appeared in 1890 and the translator died in 1906, so it is also clear in life-plus-70 jurisdictions. Source
Out of copyright in the United States on the basis stated here, and free to reuse there. Please keep the citation with it.
Wording and scope vary between editions and between communities, so this entry is tied to one named edition and makes no claim about which form is right in a given setting.
Tanzil Project (https://tanzil.net/), served by alquran.cloud, 2026. Not public domain, and the first licensed edition in this corpus. Tanzil grants permission to copy and distribute verbatim copies provided the source is named and tanzil.net is linked, and forbids altering the text. Both conditions are met here. Retrieved and verified 2026-09-04. Source
Licensed, not public domain: copy it only word for word, and name and link the source as its terms require. The terms.
The Arabic is published without an English rendering. The securely public-domain English translations are nineteenth-century orientalist work that no Muslim community uses devotionally, and setting one beside the Arabic would present it as the meaning of the prayer. Recitation in Islamic practice has conditions this entry makes no claim about; what is verified here is the wording of the edition named below.
The last two verses of the second sura: a statement of faith, then a prayer not to be burdened beyond what can be borne. Hadith recommend reciting them at night.
Tanzil Project (https://tanzil.net/), served by alquran.cloud, 2026. Not public domain, and the first licensed edition in this corpus. Tanzil grants permission to copy and distribute verbatim copies provided the source is named and tanzil.net is linked, and forbids altering the text. Both conditions are met here. Retrieved and verified 2026-09-17. Source
Licensed, not public domain: copy it only word for word, and name and link the source as its terms require. The terms.
The Arabic is published without an English rendering. The securely public-domain English translations are nineteenth-century orientalist work that no Muslim community uses devotionally, and setting one beside the Arabic would present it as the meaning of the prayer. Recitation in Islamic practice has conditions this entry makes no claim about; what is verified here is the wording of the edition named below.
Tanzil Project (https://tanzil.net/), served by alquran.cloud, 2026. Not public domain, and the first licensed edition in this corpus. Tanzil grants permission to copy and distribute verbatim copies provided the source is named and tanzil.net is linked, and forbids altering the text. Both conditions are met here. Retrieved and verified 2026-09-04. Source
Licensed, not public domain: copy it only word for word, and name and link the source as its terms require. The terms.
The Arabic is published without an English rendering. The securely public-domain English translations are nineteenth-century orientalist work that no Muslim community uses devotionally, and setting one beside the Arabic would present it as the meaning of the prayer. Recitation in Islamic practice has conditions this entry makes no claim about; what is verified here is the wording of the edition named below.
A single verse of the second sura describing God's sovereignty and his sustaining of all things. Widely recited for protection, at night and in illness.
Tanzil Project (https://tanzil.net/), served by alquran.cloud, 2026. Not public domain, and the first licensed edition in this corpus. Tanzil grants permission to copy and distribute verbatim copies provided the source is named and tanzil.net is linked, and forbids altering the text. Both conditions are met here. Retrieved and verified 2026-09-04. Source
Licensed, not public domain: copy it only word for word, and name and link the source as its terms require. The terms.
The Arabic is published without an English rendering. The securely public-domain English translations are nineteenth-century orientalist work that no Muslim community uses devotionally, and setting one beside the Arabic would present it as the meaning of the prayer. Recitation in Islamic practice has conditions this entry makes no claim about; what is verified here is the wording of the edition named below.
A short evening collect in the Order for Evening Prayer in the 1662 Book of Common Prayer, translated from the Gelasian tradition into English at the 1549 reform and carried forward unchanged. It is one of three fixed collects said daily at Evensong by clergy and laity alike, and it is the text most often reached for at bedside vigils and at the close of a difficult day.
and dangers of this night, for the love of thy only
Son, our Saviour Iesus Christ. Amen.
Church of England, 1662. Published 1662, long before 1929, US public domain. UK Crown patent applies within the United Kingdom, so this edition is used here on the US basis only. Source
Out of copyright in the United States on the basis stated here, and free to reuse there. Please keep the citation with it.
time with one accord to make our common supplications vnto thee, and do'st promise that when
two or three are gathered together in thy Name,
thou wilt grant their Requests ; fulfill now, O Lord,
the desires and petitions of thy servants, as may
be most expedient for them, granting vs in this
world knowledge of thy truth, and in the world to
come life everlasting. Amen.
Church of England, 1662. Published 1662, long before 1929, US public domain. UK Crown patent applies within the United Kingdom, so this edition is used here on the US basis only. Source
Out of copyright in the United States on the basis stated here, and free to reuse there. Please keep the citation with it.
A song of ascents used across Protestant and Anglican practice at departures, surgery, travel and deathbeds. It appears in the monthly Prayer Book psalm cycle and in most Protestant funeral and hospital orders, and it is among the psalms most frequently chosen by families asked to pick one.
I will lift vp mine eyes vnto the hills : from whence cometh my help.
My help cometh even from the Lord : who hath made heaven and earth.
He will not suffer thy foot to be moved : and he that keepeth thee will not sleep.
Behold, he that keepeth Jsrael : shall neither slumber nor sleep.
The Lord himself is thy keeper : the Lord is thy defence vpon thy right hand.
So that the sun shall not burn thee by day : neither the Moon by night.
The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil : yea it is even he that shall keep thy soule.
The Lord shall preserve thy going out, and thy coming in from this time forth for evermore.
Church of England, 1662. Published 1662, long before 1929, US public domain. UK Crown patent applies within the United Kingdom, so this edition is used here on the US basis only. Source
Out of copyright in the United States on the basis stated here, and free to reuse there. Please keep the citation with it.
Ask what size of peace is wanted before offering words: quiet for a frightened mind, calm in a household, or a way to face news of war. One familiar word, shalom, salaam, shanti, can settle a person more than paragraphs, so ask which tradition, if any, they were raised in and whether its language still fits. Silence is a legitimate offering; several traditions treat it as prayer, and it works in a mixed room. When a conflict is in the news, ask whether the person wants it named. People with family in a war zone usually need the place named; others need it held generally. Never assume which side of a conflict someone identifies with from their religion or surname. At a bedside, plain words like restful and settled travel across traditions, and a staff chaplain can calibrate further. Do not promise outcomes, and do not argue anyone out of their anger; peace language offered too early can land as dismissal.
When to call someone instead: When sleeplessness, panic, or intrusive thoughts persist, the right next step is a mental health professional, not a better text. When a family or congregation is in open conflict, clergy or a trained mediator can do what no reading can. After violence touches a community, hospital and community chaplains and local interfaith councils are practiced at holding rooms of mixed conviction, and any hospital patient may ask for a chaplain regardless of affiliation. If someone speaks of harming themselves or others, contact emergency services or a crisis line immediately.
Need your own words right now? The composer assembles a short prayer for peace from human-written lines, with or without religious language, free and without sending anything you type to anyone.
Questions people arrive with
Did St. Francis of Assisi write the Peace Prayer?#
No. The prayer widely called the Prayer of St. Francis first appeared anonymously in December 1912 in La Clochette, a small French Catholic magazine, and it is absent from Francis's own writings. The attribution to Francis spread in the 1920s, likely because the text circulated on cards bearing his image. The historian Christian Renoux documented this in a 2001 study, and Franciscan publications themselves acknowledge the finding while continuing to value the prayer's spirit.
Both come from related Semitic roots tied to wholeness, soundness, and safety, so they carry more than the absence of conflict. In Hebrew, shalom is bound up with shelemut, completeness, and serves as greeting, farewell, and the closing word of central prayers. In Arabic, salaam anchors the greeting as-salamu alaykum, peace be upon you, with its reply returning the wish, and As-Salam is honored as a name of God. In both traditions the greeting functions as a small blessing.
Chaplains generally name suffering rather than parties: the dead, the injured, the displaced, the frightened on every side, and those working for relief and for a just settlement. The traditions supply precedents that already do this, from the Orthodox litany for the peace of the whole world to the Sikh plea for the wellbeing of all. In mixed company, a shared silence avoids the problem entirely. Whatever the form, avoid guessing a listener's loyalties from their religion.
Is inner peace different from world peace in these traditions?#
They are distinguished but held together. The Hindu threefold shanti names disturbance from oneself, from other beings, and from the wider world in one invocation. Buddhist teaching treats a calmed mind as the starting point of peaceful conduct toward others. Jewish liturgy asks peace for the individual, the community, and the world within a single blessing. Most traditions resist choosing between the two, treating a settled heart and a repaired world as parts of one request.
Spiritual life: Practice, doubt and the ordinary work of belief.
Grief and mourning: After a death, including the formal mourning periods traditions set.
Faith: Holding on to belief, and finding it again.
Sources
The claims above rest on the following. Where practice varies, the variation is stated rather than resolved.
Shalom: Peace in Hebrew, My Jewish Learning. Root meaning of shalom in wholeness and shelemut, its range from wellbeing to cosmic principle, and rabbinic teaching that the Torah was given for the sake of peace.
As-salamu alaykum, Wikipedia. Meaning and reply of the greeting, its status as a prayer for the other, As-Salam as a divine name, and the taslim concluding ritual prayer.
The Divine Liturgy: Great Litany, Orthodox Church in America. The Great Litany, known as the Litany of Peace, opens the Divine Liturgy with petitions offered in peace and for the peace of the whole world.
A Look at the Peace Prayer of St. Francis, Franciscan Media. Confirms the prayer's anonymous 1912 first publication in La Clochette and its later misattribution to Francis, corroborating Christian Renoux's 2001 study.
Sarbat Da Bhala (Well-Being of Human Race), Sikh Missionary Society U.K.. The concluding plea of the Ardas for the wellbeing of all humanity, repeated daily by practicing Sikhs.
Address for the World Day of Prayer for Peace, Assisi, John Paul II, Vatican (1986). The October 27, 1986 gathering of world religious leaders at Assisi, being together to pray, the template for later interfaith peace events.
International Day of Peace, United Nations. September 21 observance established by the General Assembly, including the Peace Bell ceremony and the noon minute of silence.
Content last changed 6 October 2026. Dates come from this page’s own revision history, not from the last time the site was deployed.
