Posts From Reflection
God of life, who cares for all creation, and calls us to justice and peace,
may our security not come from arms, but from respect.
May our force not be of violence, but of love.
May our wealth not be in money, but in sharing.
May our path not be of ambition, but of justice.
May our victory not be from vengeance, but in forgiveness.
May our unity not be in the quest of power, but in vulnerable witness to do your will.
Open and confident, may we defend the dignity of all creation, sharing, today and forever, the bread of solidarity, justice and peace.
This we ask in the name of Jesus, your holy Son, our brother, who, as victim of our violence, even from the heights of the cross, gave forgiveness to us all.
Amen.
(We have) a double task: the heart of ecumenism must be peace and the heart of peace must be ecumenism. To meet this double challenge, Christians should reflect together on what might be “a theology of peace”. In the second half of the twentieth century, thanks to prophetic voices such as those of the Holy Pope John XXIII and Patriarch Athenagoras, and also thanks to the action of the World
Through the centuries Europe has developed a primarily Christian character in religious and cultural terms. However, Christians have failed to prevent suffering and destruction from being inflicted by Europeans, both within Europe and beyond. We confess our share of responsibility for this guilt and ask God and our fellow human beings for forgiveness. Our faith helps us to learn from the past, and to make our Christian faith and love
Father of mankind, Lord of history,
watch over Europe
to whom you have sent philosophers, legislators, wise people,
Forerunners in faith of your Son, who has died and has risen again
Watch over these peoples, evangelized by Peter and Paul,
by the prophets, by the monks, by the saints;
watch over these regions watered by the blood of the martyrs
and touched by the voice of the Reformers.
Watch over the peoples united by so many ties
but also divided, over time, by hatred and war.
Help us working for a Europe of the Spirit
founded not only on economic agreements,
but also on human and eternal values.
A Europe capable of ethnic and ecumenical reconciliations,
ready to welcome the stranger, respectful of each person’s dignity.
Grant that we assume our duty with hope
to inspire and promote an understanding among peoples
which ensures in all the continents,
justice and bread, freedom and peace.
