Writings: Pope Francis’ prayer for the courage for peace…

Pope Francis prayed for peace in the Middle East alongside Israeli President Shimon Peres and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas  onJune 8th at the Vatican. That this happened is the story….the two leaders in conflict embraced & exchanged a kiss on the cheek at the end of the visit. Here are Francis’ remarks:

Peacemaking calls for courage, much more so than warfare. It calls for the courage to say yes to encounter and no to conflict; yes to dialogue and no to violence; yes to negotiations and no to hostilities; yes to respect for agreements and no to acts of provocation.

All of this takes courage, great strength of spirit. History teaches that our strength alone does not suffice. We need the help of God. We do not renounce our responsibilities, but we do call on God in an act of supreme responsibility before our consciences and before our peoples. More than once we have been on the verge of peace, but the evil one, by varied means, has succeeded in blocking it.

That is why we are here, because we know and believe that we have heard a summons and we must respond. It is the summons to break the spiral of hatred and violence, and to break it by one word alone; the word “brother.” But to be able to utter this word we have to lift our eyes to heaven and acknowledge one another as children of one Father.

Here’s more.