In Springfield, Oregon, it was a living prayer ... "Let It End Here." The words draped large and blue (Springfield's color) on a banner behind city leaders, as they met with townspeople the evening of May 22. Just one day earlier, a fifteen-year-old boy's shooting rampage had left four dead and thirty-two teenagers wounded.

"Let It End Here." Those are words of hope and healing. They envision an end to violence—not just in Springfield, but everywhere. Sadie Wilson, student body president of the high school where the shooting took place, said it another way: "May everybody heal and society learn from this tragic event that never should have been."

Healing began quickly in Springfield. Fire Captain Paul Esselstyn and other Springfield firefighters asked residents to wear sky blue ribbons to symbolize "the blue sky promise of a brighter tomorrow." And to remind each other to pray. He also helped launch an international firefighters' "mission" to quell violence among young people.Brian MacQuarrie, "A town forever changed tries to learn from the terror," The Boston Globe, May 24, 1998, p. A17; Dennis Murphy, Springfield Fire Chief, press release on "Introduction of Sky Blue 'Ribbon of promise,' " May 25, 1998.

An end to youth violence. Is this really possible in a year punctuated by school shootings? In a culture where movies, television, and music videos often exalt violence as power—and even glory? And, in the case of the United States, in a country where since 1987 violent crimes by boys, and more recently girls, have steadily increased?Royal Ford, "Razor's Edge," The Boston Globe Magazine, May 24, 1998.

For anyone who believes in God—or in the worth of the human spirit—there's only one answer to these questions. That's Yes. Peace and healing are possible.

The Bible helps us understand why. Again and again, it associates peace with God. It speaks of both "the peace of God" and "the God of peace." And it tells how people over the centuries found God's peace even in captivity or in wartime.

So real, spiritual peace doesn't come from external conditions. It comes from our inner connection with God—from the wonderful reality that every one of us is God's own child, His spiritual reflection.

God's nature is peace itself. His seamless, never-ending presence—so completely good—couldn't create aggression, hatred, violence. That's why these evils are doomed to self-destruct in the totality of God's love.

It gets down to this. Every divinely impelled good thought or action is a powerful force deleting hatred or violence. Because God is good, and the good that expresses God always overpowers evil. That's God's law.

St. Paul knew this. He wrote to the persecuted Christians in Rome, "Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good" (Rom. 12:21). He knew that their simple, spiritual goodness—the love, hope, patience, forgiveness, that had developed from their relation to God—would defend these Christians. It would give them peace. And so it is today.

These words from the Bible have also given great peace to Pastor Gary Emery, of Calvary Temple in Springfield. I spoke with him a few days after the shooting. In a gentle voice that broke more than once while we talked, he said he'd visited the high school each day.

"One of the students said it best," he told me. As he and the student walked the wall of flowers, she said, "Prayer is not the least we can do, it's the most we can do!"

"Of course, we could put metal detectors in our schools," Pastor Emery said. "And we could go after gun laws. But all that won't make our schools secure.

"Because ultimately, it's a matter of the heart," he explained. "This is a spiritual battle that can only be met with love and prayer. Our nation has to call out to God. We have to heal the heart."

Often the first steps toward healing are to know that healing is possible, and to know who we all are as God's children, His own image and likeness. This knowledge confers spiritual authority—one that's blessed by God. Mary Baker Eddy wrote in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, "Know thyself, and God will supply the wisdom and the occasion for a victory over evil" (p. 571).

The people of Springfield, Oregon, have taken the first, heroic step toward healing youth violence. They've said to the world, "Let It End Here." The least we can do is to pray with them. And, as that high-school student said, it's also the most we can do.

Mary Metzner Trammell Associate Editor