Blessings of peace to all of you, my brothers and sisters in Christ.
Today, we gather under the watchful gaze of the Lord, who calls us to be instruments of His love in a world torn by violence, injustice, and division. The cries of the suffering reach the heavens, and we, as followers of Christ, must not turn away. The blood of the innocent stains the earth—children like Abdullah, who sought only a sip of water in Gaza, only to be struck down by the relentless machinery of war. How long, O Lord, must the innocent perish while the powerful wage their battles? "Blessed are the peacemakers," Christ tells us, "for they will be called children of God." But where are the peacemakers today? Where are those who will stand between the sword and the victim, who will demand that the weapons fall silent?
War is not the way of God. The prophet Isaiah foretold a time when nations would "beat their swords into plowshares," when the very tools of destruction would become instruments of life. Yet today, we see the opposite—nations arming one another, threats exchanged like currency, and the poor paying the price. The conflict in Ukraine, the tensions between great powers, the endless cycle of retaliation—these are not signs of strength but of moral failure. If we continue down this path, we risk not only the destruction of cities but the very soul of humanity.
And what of justice? The Lord hears the cry of the poor, but do we? The dispute over water between the US and Mexico is not merely a political matter—it is a matter of life and death. "Whoever shuts their ears to the cry of the poor will also cry out and not be answered." When the powerful hoard resources while the thirsty beg for a drop, we have strayed far from the Gospel. Water is a gift from God, meant for all His children, not a weapon to be wielded by the strong against the weak.
Yet, my brothers and sisters, I do not speak to you today only of despair. I speak also of hope—of the world that could be if we, the faithful, rise to our calling. Imagine a world where nations invest not in weapons but in bread, where no child dies of thirst, where the cries of the oppressed are met not with indifference but with action. This is the Kingdom we are called to build—not in some distant future, but here, now, through the grace of Christ and the courage of His people.
But the Church, too, faces trials in these times. Too often, we have been silent when we should have shouted, passive when we should have acted. One of our greatest failings is our reluctance to fully embrace the poor, the refugee, the outcast—to stand with them not only in charity but in solidarity. We must do better. We must be a Church that does not merely preach justice but lives it, that does not only pray for peace but works for it.
And if we do not? If we turn away, if we choose comfort over courage, if we let hatred and greed dictate the fate of nations? Then we will reap the whirlwind. The wars will grow bloodier, the droughts more severe, the divisions more bitter—until the earth itself groans under the weight of our sins. This is not the will of God, but the consequence of our refusal to heed His call.
So I say to you now: Act. Pray, yes, but also do. Demand peace where there is war. Share where there is greed. Speak where there is silence. Be the hands of Christ in a wounded world.
Through the intercession of Saint Bonaventure, the great teacher of wisdom and love, may we find the strength to be true disciples in these troubled times.
Amen.
What can we do?
The world is filled with suffering, conflict, and injustice, but each of us has the power to make a difference—not through grand gestures alone, but through daily choices that ripple outward. Here’s how we can act:
1. Violence and Innocent Lives Lost
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