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Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) - "Thank you for wanting to stay in your country, thank you for knowing how to pray and love despite everything. You are a seed loved by God," a year after the renewed conflict between Israel and Palestine, Pope Francis writes to Catholics in the Middle East.
"I am thinking of you and praying for you. I want to extend my hand to you on this sad day," the Pope writes in the letter, which bears the date of October 7: "One year ago the fuse of hatred was lit; it has not been extinguished, but has exploded in a spiral of violence, in the shameful inability of the international community and the most powerful countries to silence the guns and put an end to the tragedy of war. Blood and tears are shed, anger and the desire for revenge are growing, while few seem to be concerned with what is most needed and what people want: dialogue and peace.”
Pope Francis describes Christians who live in the “places of which Sacred Scripture speaks most” as “a small, defenseless flock thirsty for peace.” To them, “children of your ancient churches, today ‘martyrs’, seeds of peace in the winter of war,” the Pope asks them to be “witnesses to the power of an unarmed peace.”
For even if “people today do not know how to find peace,” Christians must not tire of “asking God for it.” That is why, Francis said, “I have invited everyone to celebrate a day of prayer and fasting,” because these “are the weapons of love that change history, the weapons that defeat our only true enemy: the spirit of evil that fuels war. Please, let us take time to pray and rediscover the saving power of fasting!”
“I would like to say one thing from the bottom of my heart to you, brothers and sisters, but also to all men and women of all denominations and religions who are suffering from the madness of war in the Middle East: I am close to you, I am with you,” continued the Pope, who addressed the inhabitants of the Gaza Strip, who are “tormented and exhausted.” “You are in my thoughts and prayers every day,” continued the Pope, who assures his prayers to those who have been forced to leave their homes, to the mothers who shed tears at the sight of their dead or wounded children, and to the children in the “great countries of the Middle East, where the intrigues of the powerful are depriving you of the right to play.”
“I am with you, who have no voice, because so much is said about plans and strategies, but little about the concrete situation of those who suffer the war that the powerful impose on others; but they are threatened by the relentless investigation of God (cf. Wisdom 6:8)”, concludes Francis, who in the last paragraphs does not forget “those throughout the world” who provide help and support, but also bishops and priests who “bring the consolation of God to the loneliness of men”. “Please look at the holy people you are called to serve and let your hearts be touched, leaving behind all divisions and ambitions for the love of your faithful”. (F.B.) (Agenzia Fides, 7/10/2024)
