“Peace
is a gift of God, but requires our efforts.
Let us be people of peace in prayer
and deed.”
Pope
Francis
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“Building peace is
difficult, but living without peace is a constant torment.” Those were Pope
Francis’ words to the Israeli and Palestinian presidents when he invited them
to come to the Vatican to join him in “heartfelt prayer to God for the gift of
peace.”
Shimon Peres and Mahmoud Abbas
will arrive at the Vatican on Sunday, June 8, 2014 within a few minutes of each
other. The Holy Father will receive them at the entrance of the Domus Sanctae
Marthae, and will then speak briefly with each. All three will then join
together, along with the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, and will then
proceed by car to the Vatican Gardens where the event will take place,
beginning with a musical introduction and an explanation in English of the
structure and form of the celebration, which will follow the chronological
order of the three religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
At around 7 p.m. there
will be a prayer (creation) in Hebrew, a brief musical interlude, a prayer
invoking forgiveness, another musical interlude, a prayer invoking peace, and
finally, a Jewish musical meditation. The Christian part will follow the same
structure, but the first prayer will be in English, the second in Italian, and
the third in Arabic. Finally the Muslim part of the celebration will proceed as
above, in Arabic.
The reader will then introduce
in English the final part of the celebration, beginning with Pope Francis'
discourse invoking peace. The Holy Father will then invite each of the two
presidents to formulate his own invocation. Shimon Peres will begin, followed
by Mahmoud Abbas. As a gesture of peace, in which the Patriarch Bartholomew
will also participate, they will all shake hands and the Pope will then
accompany them in planting an olive tree, symbol of peace.
The Holy Father, the two
presidents and the Patriarch will then proceed to the Casina Pio IV to speak in
private.
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“I exhorted the Christian
faithful to let themselves be anointed by the Holy Spirit, with an open and
docile heart, to increasingly be able to make gestures of humility, fraternity
and reconciliation. The Spirit enables us to assume these attitudes in our
daily life, with people of different cultures and religions, and to thereby
become peacemakers…. Peace is crafted
day by day, and with an open heart to allow God's gift to enter”.
“I wished be the bearer of a
word of hope, but I also received this in return! I received it from the
brothers and sisters who hope 'against all hope', amid the suffering of those
who have fled their own countries on account of conflicts; of those who,
throughout the world, are derided and discriminated against for their faith in
Christ. Let us stay close to them! Let us pray for them, and for peace in the
Holy Land and in the Middle East. May the prayer of all the Church also support
the path to full unity between Christians, so that the world may believe in
God's love that in Jesus Christ came to live among us”.
His Holiness Pope Francis
General Audience, May 28, 2014
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visit:
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As people of great faith we
believe in the power of prayer. Please
can we join together with His Holiness and all people of good will to fervently
pray for peace in the Holy Land, peace for all God’s people, peace which pours
forth anew on this Pentecost. May we open
our hearts and minds to receive and share the gifts of the Holy Spirit in new
and deeper ways.
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