November 2
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
Let's build peace
November 1st
Word of life
Recently, an observatory created by three Italian universities reported that over a million hate messages were posted online in a single year, with increasingly violent messages directed at foreigners, Jews, and especially women. Clearly, we cannot generalize, but each of us has experienced conflict, offense, and rivalries—divisive and threatening to endanger social harmony—in our families, workplaces, sports arenas, and elsewhere. Furthermore, on a broader scale, there are 56 armed conflicts worldwide, the highest number since World War II, with a staggering number of civilian casualties. Against this backdrop, Jesus' words resonate more powerfully, truthfully, and with greater force than ever: "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God." Every people and every person has a deep longing for peace, harmony, and unity. But despite our efforts and goodwill, after millennia of history, we find ourselves unable to maintain a stable and lasting peace. Jesus came to bring us peace, a peace—he tells us—that is not like the peace “of the world” (Jn 14:27), because this is not merely the absence of war, struggles, divisions, and traumas. His peace is all of these things, but it is much more: it is fullness of life and joy, it is the integral salvation of the person, it is freedom, it is justice and fraternity in love among all peoples.[1] The word of life for this month is the seventh of the Beatitudes, with which the Sermon on the Mount begins (Mt 5-7). Jesus, who embodies them all, addresses his disciples to instruct them. It should be noted that the eight Beatitudes are formulated in the plural. From this, we can deduce that the emphasis is not on individual behavior or personal virtues, but rather on a collective ethic practiced in a group. “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.” Who are the peacemakers? This “beatitude is the most active and explicitly operative; the verbal expression is analogous to that used in the first verse of the Bible for creation, and indicates initiative and industriousness. Love is by nature creative […], it seeks reconciliation at any cost. Those who have learned the art of peace and practice it, who know that there is no reconciliation without giving one’s life and that peace must be sought always and in every case, are called children of God. […] It is not an autonomous work resulting from one’s own abilities: it is a manifestation of the grace we have received from Christ, who is our peace, who has made us children of God”[2]. “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.” So, how do we live this word? First of all, by spreading true love everywhere. Then, by intervening when peace is threatened in our surroundings. Sometimes it is enough to listen to the opposing parties with love, to the very end, to see a way out. Furthermore, we will not give up until the broken relationships, often broken due to trivial matters, are restored. We could launch—within the organization, association, or parish to which we belong—concrete initiatives aimed at developing a greater awareness of the need for peace. There are thousands of proposals worldwide, large and small, that work in this direction: marches, concerts, gatherings; and volunteering also activates a current of generosity that builds peace. There are also peace education programs, such as Living Peace[3]. To date, more than 2,600 schools and groups have joined this project, and more than two million children, young people, and adults from five continents participate in its initiatives. Among these is the launch of the "peace die"—inspired by Chiara Lubich's Art of Loving die[4]—whose faces are written with phrases that help build peaceful relationships; and also an initiative that is taking place all over the world, Time-out: every day at 12:00 a minute of silence, reflection or prayer for peace is observed. Augusto Parodi and the Word of Life team [1] C. Lubich, Word of Life of January 2004, in Ciudad Nueva no. 405 (1/2004), 22.[2] Francis, General Audience, 15-4-2020: The Law of God. Catechesis on the Commandments and the Beatitudes, Ciudad Nueva, Madrid 2020, pp. 155-156.[3] http://livingpeaceinternational.org.[4] C. Lubich, The Art of Loving, Ciudad Nueva, Madrid 2006, 2012.
Working for peace
We live in a time when tensions, conflicts, and hate speech seem to be multiplying: on social media, at work, in politics, even within families. Globally, armed conflicts are reaching levels not seen for decades. All of this reminds us that peace is never guaranteed, but rather needs to be built every day. Faced with this reality, Chiara Lubich's words from 2004 remain relevant today: “Every people and every person has a deep longing for peace, harmony, and unity. But despite our efforts and goodwill, after millennia of history, we find ourselves unable to maintain a stable and lasting peace. (…) because peace is not merely the absence of war, struggles, divisions, and traumas.” True peace “is fullness of life and joy, it is the integral salvation of the person, it is freedom, it is justice and fraternity in love among all peoples.” Working for peace requires taking action, taking the initiative, sometimes with creativity. Each of us can also be a “peacemaker”: in the small things of everyday life and also on a larger scale, by joining global initiatives that promote harmony and collaboration. The Living Peace project[1], where the personal desire to do something for peace has become a peace education program, is one example. Currently, more than 2,600 schools and groups are part of this project, and more than two million children, young people, and adults from five continents participate in its initiatives. Among these is the “peace die,” whose faces are written with phrases that help build peaceful relationships, which everyone tries to put into practice. Recently, a webinar entitled “Forgiveness and Peace: The Courage of Difficult Decisions”[2] highlighted the importance of forgiveness and reconciliation in being peacemakers by rebuilding what has been broken. Finally, another example is the Rondine Method[3]: an open-air laboratory for moving beyond the logic of the enemy. Israelis and Palestinians, Serbs and Bosnians, Armenians and Azerbaijanis, but also Malians, Nigerians, and Colombians, and more recently Russians and Ukrainians, have forged a viable path to repair relationships shattered by hatred and build strong bonds in favor of peace. Among all the young people who have come to the Citadel of Peace, a small medieval village near Arezzo, over these thirty years, we now find politicians, ambassadors, business leaders, and young leaders who dedicate their lives to healing the wounds of these painful conflicts, laying the foundations for a future that intertwines peaceful relations and development. To live this ideal, let us resolve to sow peace wherever we are, because every step toward peace makes us more fully human and brings all of society closer to a horizon of justice and fraternity. [1] http://livingpeaceinternational.org[2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5zkU3b6H3o&t=2008s[3] https://rondine.org/en/who-we-are/.
