Interfaith Candle Lighting Ceremonies

Interfaith Candle-Lighting Ceremony

Readings may be read by representatives of various faiths and traditions

as they light a candle.

Universal Peace Federation

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 lightthat each of us can bring.

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

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.

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

Interfaith Candle Ceremony

Hindu Reading

Lead me from the unreal to the real,

from darkness lead me to Light.

- Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 1.3.2

Interfaith Candle Ceremony

Jewish Reading

Lift up the light of thy countenance upon us,

O Lord!

– Psalm 4:6

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

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

Interfaith Candle Ceremony

The Great Invocation

From the point of Light within the Mind of GodLet 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 knownLet 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 outAnd may it seal the door where evil dwells.

Let Light and Love and Power restore the Plan on Earth.

Alice A. Bailey & Djwhal Khul

Interfaith Candle Ceremony

Interfaith Candle Ceremony

Mahatma Gandhi

Be the change that you wantto see in the world.

Reykjavik, Iceland

Interfaith Candle Ceremony

Seoul, Korea

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.

Prayer attributed to St. Francis

Where there is hatred, let me sow love;where there is darkness, light.

Interfaith Candle Ceremony

Lima, Peru

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.

Interfaith Candle Ceremony

Majuro, Marshall Islands

Interfaith Candle Ceremony

Buson

Lighting one candleWith another candleAn evening of spring.

Tokyo, Japan

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

Buddhist saying

If you light a lamp for somebody,

it will also brighten your own path.

Interfaith Candle Ceremony

Kathmandu, Nepal

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.

Interfaith Candle Ceremony

United Nations Headquarters, New York

Rev. Sun Myung Moon

Interfaith Candle Ceremony

New York, USA

The sun is heat in itself. Because

it is heat itself, it has light.

Likewise, when you have love,

that love produces wisdom.

Rabindranath Tagore

Let not the hours pass by in the dark. Kindle the lamp of love with thy life.

Interfaith Candle Ceremony

Kathmandu, Nepal

Interfaith Candle Ceremony

Rumi

If you wish for light, be ready to receive light.

Monza, Italy

Love before meLove behind meLove at my leftLove at my rightLove above meLove below meLove unto meLove in my        surroundingsLove to allLove to the Universe

Peace before me

Peace behind mePeace at my leftPeace at my rightPeace above mePeace below mePeace unto mePeace in my        surroundingsPeace to allPeace to the Universe

Light before meLight behind me

Light at my leftLight at my rightLight above meLight below meLight unto meLight in my       surroundingsLight to allLight to the Universe

Interfaith Candle Ceremony

Prayer of Light

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