February 6, 2026

Dear Friends,

Today is the sixth of our daily reflections for Interfaith Harmony Week. The Interfaith Peace Project is pleased to offer you these reflections for each day of Interfaith Harmony Week, February 1-7, 2026. Our reflections for Interfaith Harmony Week are inspired by the work and life of our friend, Randy Thomas, who passed away on December 27, 2025. May he experience the Light and Peace he so generously shared with us. If you would like to view the previous reflections, you can find them on our blog at: interfaithpeaceproject.org.

If you have anything that you would like to share, please contact:

Thomas P. Bonacci, C.P.
[email protected]
925-787-9279

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THE PRESENCE
INTERFAITH HARMONY WEEK
February 1-7, 2026
Day 6
by Thomas P. Bonacci, C.P.

Adobe Stock 738067839 By oldwar

One of the most powerful experiences any person can have is the deep sense of being in another person’s presence. Think of the parent-child relationship. Think of the love between two spouses. Think of a beloved friendship. Human persons also have a deep sense of the divine, the ultimate, or, as some would say, the ground of all being. The Divine Presence touches the hearts of countless people. The language of Presence is the simple silence that communicates what words and ideas can never convey. 

REFLECTION

Psalm 139: 7-10, in the Hebrew Scripture, speaks beautifully and powerfully of the Divine Presence:    

   Where can I go from your spirit?
   Or where can I flee from your presence?
   If I ascend to heaven, you are there;
   if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
   If I take the wings of the morning
   and settle at the farthest limits of the sea,
   even there your hand shall lead me,
   and your right hand shall hold me fast.

DEVELOPMENT

Thich Nhat Hanh famously said, “When you love someone, the best thing you can offer is your presence. How can you love if you are not there?” Ponder a baby in the arms of their parent. The silence speaks of great love. There is a very beautiful prayer from the Christian Community that is worth pondering, if not praying: “In you, O God, we live and move and have our very being.” The divine is like the water in which a fish lives and moves. We, humans, swim in the ocean of the Divine Presence.

ACTION

The great pastor said, “No one should presume to be in the presence of another person.” Each and every person is a unique expression of the Divine Presence.

Today and every day, practice the presence of being near another person. See them as your companion on the road of life. Forgive if necessary, cherish always, offer help when necessary, rejoice when appropriate, and walk compassionately with everyone you meet.