Each Hour a Miracle


a reflection on the 2023 United in Prayer Day event

by Sue Kenney, California, USA

Each hour a miracle. A miracle of technology and of silent prayer. Together they create a deep and expansive pool of prayer. I dip the toe of my awareness into each pool. As I breath deeply, settle comfortably, the miracle takes over.

During the 23 hours, I am transported in the silence to the Philippines, then to Hawaii and on to  Sydney. I nod off for a bit and find myself in Korea, then sleep through South Africa and Slovakia. In the wee hours, I awake in London and then pray for hope with the people of Ireland. I share the silence with those in the Bahamas, then sink into the prayers of Germany as I hear the Lord’s Prayer as translated from Aramaic.

Later, the silence of Minneapolis reveals beautiful calligraphy, making our shared silence into a piece of art. Each hour, an incarcerated person without internet joins us in silence. For the energy of silence is not bound by prison walls or technology or time zones or geography.

In Wales, I join in the contemplative walk around my space, leaving behind  things no longer needed with each step.  The French language welcomes me to Quebec and the Peace Circle Dance gets me moving in Maryland. As the 23rd hour approaches, the silence invites us to join in a testimony to peace.

Miracle upon miracle. Prayer upon prayer. The silence embraces us, washes away all that divides us. Each of us changed in ways that words are too clumsy to describe. But we feel a silence that knows no bounds, a silence that is always there, ready to welcome each of us, all of us. All we can say is “thank you”.