Day of Prayer and Fasting for Peace

Pope Francis invites us today to join in prayer and fasting for peace, in the Holy Land and in the other hotbeds of war around the world.

What worries Francis is the possible widening of the conflict “while in the world there are already so many open fronts of war”:

“Silence the weapons, listen to the cry for peace of the poor, of the people, of the children. War does not solve any problem, it only sows death and destruction. It increases hatred, multiplies revenge. War erases the future.

The Pope never tires of urging prayer, which is, as he has said on several occasions, the “gentle and holy strength we have to combat hatred.”

“Please, brothers and sisters, let us continue to pray for peace in the world, especially in the martyred Ukraine which is no longer spoken of now, but where the drama continues.”

Taking a stand for peace

The exhortation to believers is therefore to “take one side in this conflict: that of peace”, with total prayer and dedication.

Each one of us, from our own possibilities, as a community or personally, is invited to unite as one family, asking for the gift of peace.