Each year we come upon August 6, 1946, and sadly remember that Hiroshima, Japan vanished in the flash of a single atomic bomb. It is a necessary time to renew our Catholic teaching on respect for the value of human life, justice and peace. On this 81st anniversary, Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity invite you to pause and listen with us to the song “I Come and Stand at Every Door’ by The Byrds. In addition, find resources that speak to the vision of St. Francis and the saints on world peace.
Come and Stand at Every Door by The Byrds
To fully appreciate the artistry of this song, listen first to the music. “Musically, it’s one long, lilting drone, taken from a traditional folk melody called Great Selchie of Shule Skerry (recorded by Judy Collins on her second album). The lyrics are adapted from a poem by the celebrated Turkish poet Nazim Hikmet – spoken from the viewpoint of a seven-year-old child incinerated at Hiroshima: “I’m seven now as I was then/When children die they do not grow.” Read more.
“I come and stand at every door But no one hears my silent tread
I knock and yet remain unseen For I am dead, for I am dead
I’m only seven, although I died In Hiroshima long ago
I’m seven now as I was then
When children die they do not grow
My hair was scorched by swirling flame
My eyes grew dim, my eyes grew blind
Death came and turned my bones to dust
And that was scattered by the wind I need no fruit,
I need no rice I need no sweet nor even bread
I ask for nothing for myself For I am dead, for I am dead
All that I ask is that for peace You fight today, you fight today
So that the children of this world May live and grow and laugh and play”
Franciscan Resources
Writings of St. Francis, esp. The Earlier Rule and The Letter to the Rulers of the People
Thomas of Celano The Life of St. Francis
St. Francis on his time Jubilee Year of St. Francis of Assisi – Needed for Our Time of War, Inequality, and Environmental Destruction – The Houston Catholic Worker
Cardinal Robert McElroy concluded his remarks at a Peace Pilgrimage in 2025 with these words:, “We refuse to live in such a world of nuclear proliferation and risk-taking. We will resist, we will organize, we will pray, we will not cease, until the world’s nuclear arsenals have been destroyed.” Read more.
Gaudium Et Spes 77-93
Catechism of the Catholic Church 2258-2330
Pope Leo XVI lead this peace prayer asking intercession from St. Francis of Assisi. We offer it here for your reflection with a photo of the Atomic Bomb Dome, Hiroshima Peace Memorial, Japan (Photo: ::::=UT=::::, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons)
Saint Francis, our brother, you who eight hundred years ago went to meet Sister Death as a man at peace, intercede for us before the Lord.
You recognized true peace in the Crucifix of San Damiano, teach us to seek in him the source of all reconciliation that breaks down every wall.
You who, unarmed, crossed the lines of war and misunderstanding, give us the courage to build bridges where the world raises up boundaries.
In this time afflicted by conflict and division, intercede for us so that we may become peacemakers: unarmed and disarming witnesses of the peace that comes from Christ.
Amen.
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