A Reading from an Angelus Homily
   of Pope Francis

Today, dear brothers and sisters, I wish to add my voice
to the cry which rises up with increasing anguish from every part of the world…
from the one great family which is humanity.
It is the cry for peace!
It is a cry which declares with force:
We want a peaceful world; we want to be men and women of peace.
and we want in our society, torn apart by divisions and conflict,
that peace break out!
There are so many conflicts in this world, I appeal strongly for peace …
How much suffering, how much devastation,
how much pain has the use of arms carried in its wake …
I think of many children who will not see the light of the future!
With utmost firmness I condemn the use of chemical weapons.
There is a judgment of God and of history upon our actions which is inescapable!
Never has the use of violence brought peace in its wake.
War begets war; violence begets violence.
What can we do to make peace in the world?
As Pope John said, it pertains to each individual
to establish new relationships in human society
under the mastery and guidance of justice and love.
All men and women of good will are bound
by the task of pursuing peace.
I make a forceful and urgent call to the entire Catholic Church,
and also to every Christian of other confessions
as well as to followers of every religion
and to those brothers and sister who do not believe:
Peace is a good which overcomes every barrier, because it belongs to all of humanity.
I repeat forcefully:
It is neither a culture of confrontation nor a culture of conflict
which builds harmony with and between peoples,
but it is a culture of encounter and a culture of dialogue;
This is the only way to peace.
May the plea for peace rise up and touch the hearts of everyone
so that they may lay down their weapons
and let themselves be led by the desire for peace.             – Pope Francis

A prayer for Israel and Palestine

Our great Spirit, our holy one, our shepherd, we join together with our prayers for Israel and Palestine.

Two peoples, one land,
Three faiths, one root,
One earth, one mother,
One sky, one beginning, one future, one destiny,
One broken heart, One God.
We pray to You: Grant us a vision of unity.
May we see the many in the one and the one in the many.
May you, Life of All the Worlds, Source of All Amazing Differences, help us to see clearly.
Guide us gently and firmly toward each other,  toward peace.
Rabbi Sheila Weinberg

How it must trouble you Lord, when your children fear and despise one another.

How your heart must ache – bombs and guns, hostages and prisoners, millennia of enmity, like two beloved sons who cannot share a room.

To the Christians, the Muslims, the Jewish people, and those of other and no faith, grant us and them openness of heart to dare to love those who persecute us. Increase trust through real justice and bring Peace, true and lasting peace. In the name of our father Abraham,             Amen