Peace has always been a basic need for humanity, yet hatred and violence always seem to stifle this fundamental necessity. Our world gone crazy is increasingly marching to the rhythm of rolling war drums in a vicious circle of strike and counter-strike.
There are many causes to conflict and warfare. Perhaps the most important is the fear of ‘the other’, and the subsequent drive to close oneself within one’s family, people, culture and religion.
This picture was clear to Pope Benedict XVI during his June 17 pilgrimage to Assisi, the birthplace of the peace-loving Saint Francis, to mark the 800th anniversary of the conversion of the Saint who, as the Holy Father put it, turned away from the materialistic life as the ‘king of partying’ to one of simplicity and spirituality.
Benedict told the world he considered it his duty, in the ‘city of peace’, to make “a pressing and heartfelt appeal to stop all the armed conflicts which bathe the earth in blood. May weapons be silenced and may hatred everywhere give way to love, offence to forgiveness and discord to union!”
The Pope recalled the Middle East with particular emphasis, saying, “We feel here the spiritual presence of all those whom war and its tragic consequences cause to weep, suffer and die in any part of the world. We are thinking in particular of the Holy Land, so loved by Saint Francis; and of Iraq, Lebanon and the entire region of the Middle East. For too long now the peoples of those countries have been experiencing the horrors of war, terrorism, blind violence, the illusion that force can resolve conflicts, the refusal to listen to the reasoning of others, and the refusal to do them justice. Only a responsible and sincere dialogue, backed by the generous support of the international community, will be able to put an end to all this suffering and restore life and dignity to individuals, institutions and peoples.”
The Holy Father then appealed to all people of good will to become instruments of peace, “May Saint Francis, a man of peace, obtain for us from the Lord an increasing number of people who accept to make themselves ‘instruments of his peace’ through thousands of small acts in daily life; and that all who have roles of responsibility be motivated by a passionate love for peace and an indomitable determination to achieve it, choosing the appropriate means to obtain it. May the Blessed Virgin, whom the ‘Poverello’ loved tenderly and praised in inspired tones, help us discover the secret of peace in the miracle of love which was fulfilled in her womb with the Incarnation of the Son of God.”
Before leaving, Benedict delivered a special message to the Friars Minor Conventuals gathered for the General Chapter in Assisi, in the Basilica of Saint Francis, their mother-house. Addressing their newly-elect Minister General, Fr. Marco Tasca, the Holy Father said to them, “Francis’ prophecy teaches us to make the Gospel the criterion for facing the challenges of every age, and to resist the deceptive fascination of fleeting modes in order to be rooted in the design of God, and in that way to discern the true needs of men.”
The world cannot change overnight, but the problems of our era, such as the fear of war, terrorism and all forms of violence should inspire us to live in greater conformity to the Gospel. As was the case with the saint of Assisi, whose conversion brought him “to show mercy, and in turn this obtained mercy for him. To serve lepers, up to even kissing them, was not simply a philanthropic gesture, a ‘social’ conversion so to speak, but a true religious experience, dictated by the initiative of God’s grace and love.”
If all of us tried to become true workers of peace as the Gospels summon us, a new dawn of hope would arise for humanity.
Updated on October 06 2016