(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Sunday asked for prayers for peace in the Holy Land.
Speaking after the Angelus prayer in St. Peter’s Square, the Pope described his appeal as “heartfelt” and said we must all continue to pray insistently for peace in the Holy Land in the light of the tragic events of the past days.
The memory – the Pope said – of the encounter on June 8th between the Patriarch Bartholomew, President Peres and President Abbas, during which an invocation for the gift of peace was pronounced and the call to break the cycle of hatred and violence was reflected upon, is fresh in my mind.
Some may think – he continued – that that encounter took place in vain. But no! Prayer helps us – Francis said – to not be conquered by evil or to resign ourselves that violence and hatred prevail upon dialogue and reconciliation.
And Pope Francis exhorted all interested parties and all those with political responsibility, both on a local and on an international level not to spare their prayers, and not to spare all efforts that may achieve the cessation of all hostilities and the desired peace for the good of all.
The Pope then invited everyone to join him in prayer:
“Lord help us! Give us your peace, teach us peace, guide us towards peace. Open our eyes and our hearts and give us the courage to say: “never again war!”: with war all is destroyed! Give us the courage to perform concrete gestures to build peace. Make us available to listen to the cries of our fellow citizens who ask us to transform our arms into instruments of peace, our fears into trust, our tension into forgiveness. Amen”.
Powered by WPtouch Mobile Suite for WordPress