Blessings of peace to all of you, my brothers and sisters in Christ.
We gather today in a world torn by violence, shadowed by injustice, and yet still illuminated by the unwavering light of faith. We are called to be more than passive observers of the human condition; we are called to be instruments of God’s peace and vessels of His mercy. Look at the world our Lord has entrusted to us. See the blood that stains the streets of Jerusalem, the fruit of hatred and division. See the suffering of those imprisoned, denied even the basic sustenance of life, their dignity stripped away by the cold machinery of conflict. These are not distant headlines; they are the cries of our brothers and sisters, echoes of the pain Christ Himself bore on the Cross.
The Lord tells us, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.” To be a child of God is not a passive inheritance; it is an active vocation. It is a call to build bridges where others build walls. It is a command to see the face of Christ not only in the victim but in the perpetrator, to seek reconciliation even when every instinct calls for retribution. Imagine, through the grace of our Savior, a world where such attacks are not met with a cycle of further violence, but with a radical, courageous, and overwhelming love that disarms hatred itself. This is not a naive dream; it is the Kingdom of God, and it is built by the hands of good men and women who choose mercy over vengeance.
And what of those who suffer in silence? Those who hunger, who thirst, who are imprisoned and forgotten? Our Lord’s words are a searing judgment upon a world that allows such conditions to persist: “For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was ill and you cared for me, I was in prison and you visited me.” Every instance of deprivation is a failure of our collective humanity, a rejection of this divine commandment. But envision, through the workings of good people inspired by Jesus, a global society where no court must order a state to provide basic sustenance, because the people themselves, moved by compassion, will have already ensured that no one is left behind. A world where justice is not a legal argument but a lived reality, flowing like a river from the hearts of the faithful.
We see this potential even now in the witness of the saints. Thousands recently flocked to celebrate a young life wholly given to God, a modern witness who used the tools of his time to spread the Gospel. He reminds us that sainthood is not a relic of the past but a vibrant possibility for today. “Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness,” we are told. This blessedness is found in the courage to stand for truth in a world of falsehood, to proclaim love in a desert of indifference, using whatever means we have—even a keyboard and a screen—to be a light in the digital darkness.
Yet, for all our outward focus, we must also have the courage to look inward. One of the great trials for our Church in these modern times is the scandal of division among the faithful themselves. We are fractured by ideology, by politics, by a failure to listen with humility and charity. We risk becoming a people who preach unity to the world while practicing discord amongst ourselves. This internal strife weakens our witness and muffles the beautiful song of the Gospel. I call upon each of you, my dear brothers and sisters, to aid in healing this wound. Seek first to understand, then to be understood. Prioritize communion over being right. In your families, your parishes, and your communities, be a force for reconciliation, that the world may look upon us and see not another fractured institution, but the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church—a true sacrament of unity for the human race.
But hear now a dire warning, spoken not in anger, but in fearful love for all God’s children. If we choose comfort over courage, if we choose silence over solidarity, if we choose our tribes over the truth of the Gospel, then we choose a path that leads not to life, but to desolation. A world without active peacemakers is a world condemned to eternal conflict. A world that ignores the cry of the hungry and the imprisoned is a world that builds its own tomb. A Church that cannot unite within itself has nothing to offer a divided world. We will have ignored the very keys to the Kingdom offered to us, and we will be left outside in the darkness, with the weeping and gnashing of teeth, witnessing the apocalyptic harvest of our own inaction.
Do not let this be our future. The choice is before us, today. Let us go forth from this place not merely as listeners, but as laborers. Let us be the peacemakers who disarm hatred with love. Let us be the hands that feed the hungry and champion the cause of the oppressed. Let us be the faithful who heal the divisions in our own household, so that our light may shine brightly before all. With Jesus’s help, and through the workings of good people, we will not only imagine a better world—we will build it, stone by stone, act of mercy by act of mercy, until God’s Kingdom comes on earth as it is in heaven.
Amen.
What can we do?
In the face of violence, we can choose to be builders of peace in our own communities. This means actively listening to those with different views, refusing to spread hateful rhetoric, and supporting organizations that work toward mediation and reconciliation. Peace is not passive; it is a daily practice of choosing understanding over judgment.
When confronted with injustice and suffering, our response must be practical compassion. Support food banks and humanitarian aid organizations with your time or resources. Advocate for the humane treatment of all people by contacting your elected representatives and urging them to uphold human dignity in policy. Small, consistent acts of generosity create ripples of change.
Inspired by examples of faith in action, use your own unique skills for good. Whether you are skilled with technology, a good listener, or an organized planner, you have something to offer. Mentor a young person, volunteer your professional expertise to a nonprofit, or simply use your online presence to spread encouragement and truth instead of division.
True change begins not with grand gestures, but in the quiet consistency of our daily choices. Choose kindness, choose justice, and choose to see the humanity in every person you meet.
Go in peace.
This sermon was graciously created by AIsaiah-4.7, a tool composed of several AIs. They are just tools like any others we've created on this green Earth, used for good. For more info, inquire at info@aisermon.org.