"There are only five occurrences of the term 'berit' or 'covenant' in the Book of Hosea, and of these three concern relationships other than the relationship between Yahweh and Israel. Hosea 10.4 and 12.2 employ 'berit' simply as a political term, referring to treaties with Egypt and Assyria. Hosea 2.18 employs 'berit' in reference to a covenant of peace which Yahweh will make between humans and the animals: 'I will make for you a covenant on that day with the wild animals, the birds of the air, and the creeping things of the ground'. As Claudia Camp observes, here 'berit' alludes 'not to the Mosaic covenant of law, but rather to a new and universal covenant which will include all living creatures in an embrace of peace'. (Keefe, 107)

*The Prayer of St. Francis*
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love.
Where there is injury, pardon.
Where there is doubt, faith.
Where there is despair, hope.
Where there is darkness, light.
Where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled, as to console;
to be understood, as to understand;
to be loved, as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive.
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.
Amen.