Pope Francis calls for peace

Following his reflections on the Sunday’s Gospel parable of the sower and the seed, Pope Francis called for peace in the Holy Land, asking participants to join him in a moment of silent prayer. “I extend a heartfelt appeal to all of you to continue to pray earnestly for peace in the Holy Land, in light of the tragic events of recent days,” the Pope said. Referring to the invocation for peace that had been held on June 8, in the Vatican, the Pope reflected: “Some might think that such a meeting took place in vain, but no, because prayer helps us not to allow ourselves to be overcome by evil, nor resign ourselves to violence and hatred taking over dialogue and reconciliation.”

“I urge the parties concerned and all those who have political responsibility at local and international levels to spare a prayer and make some effort to put an end to all hostilities and to achieve the desired peace for the good of all.”

Following the prayerful moment of silence, Pope Francis prayed “Now, Lord, help us! Grant us peace, teach us peace, guide us toward peace… Open our eyes and our hearts and give us the courage to say: ‘Never again war!’ ‘Everything is destroyed by war.’” He asked that the Lord give to all the strength and courage “to take concrete actions to build peace...Make us willing to listen to the cry of our citizens who are asking us to transform our weapons into instruments of peace, our fears into trust, and our tensions into forgiveness.”