Selections from sacred writings and quotes by notable people that can be read as part of a ceremony lighting candles for peace

1. Interfaith
Candle-Lighting Ceremony
Readings may be read by representatives
of various faiths and traditions
as they light a candle.
Universal Peace Federation

2. Invocation
Let light fill the sky.
Let its warmth heal us
wherever we are broken.
Let it burn away the fog
so that we can see each other clearly.
Let our selfishness vanish
so we can see all people
as our neighbors, as part of our family.
Let the flames teach our hearts
to reach always upward to heaven.
Our world awaits the light
that each of us can bring.

3. Interfaith Candle Ceremony
Baha’i Reading
The candle of thine heart
is lighted by the hand
of My power,
quench it not with the
contrary winds of self
and passion.
The healer of all thine ills
is remembrance of
Me, forget it not.
Make My love thy treasure
and cherish it even as
thy very sight and life.
~ Baha'u'llah, The Persian
Hidden Words

4. Interfaith Candle Ceremony
The Buddha
Thousands of candles can
be lit from a single
candle, and the life of the
candle will not be
shortened. Happiness
never decreases by being
shared.
To walk safely through the
maze of human life,
one needs the light of
wisdom and the guidance
of virtue.

5. Interfaith Candle Ceremony
Christian Reading
You are the light of the world.
A city that is set on an hill
cannot be hid.
Neither do men light a candle,
and put it under a bushel,
but on a candlestick;
and it gives light unto all
that are in the house.
- Matthew 5:14

6. Interfaith Candle Ceremony
Hindu Reading
Lead me from the unreal
to the real,
from darkness lead me
to Light.
- Brihadaranyaka Upanishad
1.3.2

7. Interfaith Candle Ceremony
Jewish Reading
Lift up the light
of thy countenance upon us,
O Lord!
– Psalm 4:6

8. Interfaith Candle Ceremony
Muslim Reading
God is the light of the heaven
and the earth.
Light upon Light!
God guides whom He will
to His Light.
- Qur'an 24:35

9. Interfaith Candle Ceremony
Sikh Readings
There is a light in all,
and that light is the Ultimate One.
– Guru Granth 663
The best light
is the light of God
in the heart.
– Adi Granth

10. Interfaith Candle Ceremony
The Great Invocation
From the point of Light within the Mind of God
Let light stream forth into human minds.
Let Light descend on Earth.
From the point of Love within the Heart of God
Let love stream forth into human hearts.
May the Coming One return to Earth.
From the centre where the Will of God is known
Let purpose guide all little human wills -
The purpose which the Masters know and serve.
From the centre which we call the human race
Let the Plan of Love and Light work out
And may it seal the door where evil dwells.
Let Light and Love and Power
restore the Plan on Earth.
Alice A. Bailey & Djwhal Khul

11. Interfaith Candle Ceremony
Mahatma Gandhi
Be the change that you want
to see in the world.
Reykjavik, Iceland

12. Interfaith Candle Ceremony
Talmud
There are stars whose light
only reaches the earth
long after they have
fallen apart.
There are people
whose remembrance
gives light in this world,
long after they have
passed away.
This light shines
in our darkest nights
on the road we must follow.
Seoul, Korea

13. Interfaith Candle Ceremony
Prayer attributed to St. Francis
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is darkness, light.
Lima, Peru

14. Interfaith Candle Ceremony
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Darkness cannot drive out
darkness;
only light can do that.
Hate cannot drive out hate;
only love can do that.
Every man must decide
whether he will walk in the light
of creative altruism
or in the darkness
of destructive selfishness.
Majuro, Marshall Islands

15. Interfaith Candle Ceremony
Buson
Lighting one candle
With another candle
An evening of spring.
Tokyo, Japan

16. Interfaith Candle Ceremony
Leo Tolstoy
There is something
in the human spirit
that will survive
and prevail.
There is a tiny and
brilliant light burning in
the heart of man
that will not go out
no matter how dark
the world becomes.
Yekaterinburg, Russia

17. Interfaith Candle Ceremony
Buddhist saying
If you light a lamp
for somebody,
it will also brighten
your own path.
Kathmandu, Nepal

18. Interfaith Candle Ceremony
Albert Schweitzer
In everyone's life,
at some time,
our inner fire goes out.
It is then burst
into flame
by an encounter with
another human being.
We should all be
thankful for those people
who rekindle the inner spirit.
United Nations Headquarters, New York

19. Interfaith Candle Ceremony
Rev. Sun Myung Moon
The sun is heat
in itself.
Because it is
heat itself,
it has light.
Likewise, when
you have
love, that love
produces
wisdom.
New York, USA

20. Interfaith Candle Ceremony
Rabindranath Tagore
Let not the hours pass by
in the dark.
Kindle the lamp of love
with thy life.
Kathmandu, Nepal

21. Interfaith Candle Ceremony
Rumi
If you wish for light,
be ready to receive light.
Monza, Italy

22. Interfaith Candle Ceremony
Prayer of Light
Love before me Peace before me Light before me
Love behind me Peace behind me Light behind me
Love at my left Peace at my left Light at my left
Love at my right Peace at my right Light at my right
Love above me Peace above me Light above me
Love below me Peace below me Light below me
Love unto me Peace unto me Light unto me
Love in my Peace in my Light in my
surroundings surroundings surroundings
Love to all Peace to all Light to all
Love to the Universe Peace to the Universe Light to the Universe

23. We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark;
the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light.
- Plato
Universal Peace Federation
www.upf.org