Tag: Forgiveness

Pope Leo reflects on Peace

Peace Vigil Reflection
Part of the text of Pope Leo’s reflection at the Prayer Vigil for Peace in St Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican on April 11th

“Your prayer is an expression of that faith which, according to the words of Jesus, moves the world to pray for peace.
War divides; hope unites. Arrogance tramples upon others; love lifts up. Idolatry blinds us;
the living God enlightens. My dearest friends, all it takes is a little faith, a mere “crumb” of faith, in order to face this dramatic hour in history together — as humanity and alongside humanity.
Prayer is not a refuge in which to hide from our responsibilities, nor an anaesthetic to numb the pain provoked by so much injustice.
Rather, it is the most selfless, universal and transformative response to death: we are a people who are already risen! Within each of us, within every human being, the interior Teacher teaches peace, urges us toward encounter and inspires us to make supplication.
Let us rise from the rubble! Nothing can confine us to a predetermined fate, not even in this world where there never seem to be enough graves, for people continue to crucify one another and eliminate life, with no regard to justice and mercy.

Prayer teaches us how to act.
In prayer, our limited human possibilities are joined to the infinite possibilities of God.
Thoughts, words and deeds then break the demonic cycle of evil and are placed at the service of the Kingdom of God. A Kingdom in which there is no sword, no drone, no vengeance, no trivialization of evil, no unjust profit, but only dignity, understanding and forgiveness.
It is here that we find a bulwark against that delusion of omnipotence that surrounds us and is becoming increasingly unpredictable and aggressive.
The balance within the human family has been severely destabilized. Even the holy Name of God, the God of life,
is being dragged into discourses of death. A world of brothers and sisters with one heavenly Father vanishes, as in a nightmare, giving way to a reality populated by enemies.
We are met by threats, rather than the invitation to listen and to come together.
Brothers and sisters, those who pray are aware of their own limitations; they do not kill or threaten with death.
Instead, death enslaves those who have turned their backs on the living God, turning themselves and their own power into a mute, blind and deaf idol (cf. Ps 115:4–8), to which they sacrifice every value, demanding that the whole world bend its knee.
Enough of the idolatry of self and money! Enough of the display of power! Enough of war!
True strength is shown in serving life. With evangelical simplicity, Saint John XXIII once wrote: “The benefits of peace will be felt everywhere, by individuals, by families, by nations, by the whole human race.” And echoing the incisive words of Pius XII, he added: “Nothing is lost by peace; everything may be lost by war” (Encyclical Letter Pacem in Terris, 116).

Let us, therefore, unite the moral and spiritual strength of the millions and billions of men and women, young and old, who today choose to believe in peace, caring for the wounds and repairing the damage left behind by the madness of war.
I receive countless letters from children in areas of conflict. In reading them, one perceives, through the lens of innocence, all the horror and inhumanity of actions that some adults boast of with pride.
Let us listen to the voices of children!

Dear brothers and sisters, there are certainly binding responsibilities that fall to the leaders of nations. To them we cry out: Stop! It is time for peace!
Sit at the table of dialogue and mediation, not at the table where rearmament is planned and deadly actions are decided!
Yet there is a no less significant responsibility that falls to all of us — men and women from all over the world. We are an immense multitude that rejects war not only in word, but also in deed. Prayer calls us to leave behind whatever violence remains in our hearts and minds. Let us turn to a Kingdom of peace that is built up day by day — in our homes, schools, neighbourhoods, and civil and religious communities. A Kingdom that counters polemics and resignation through friendship and a culture of encounter. Let us believe once again in love, moderation and good politics. We must form ourselves and get personally involved, each following our own calling. Everyone has a place in the mosaic of peace!
As Pope Francis taught us, “There is also a need for peacemakers, men and women prepared to work boldly and creatively to initiate processes of healing and renewed encounter”

Dear brothers and sisters, let us make a commitment to pray without ceasing and without growing weary, a commitment to a profound conversion of heart. Throughout the world, it is to be hoped that every community become a ‘house of peace,’ where one learns how to defuse hostility through dialogue, where justice is practiced and forgiveness is cherished

Brothers and Sisters of every language, people and nation: we are one family that weeps, hopes and rises again.
“No more war, a journey with no return; no more war, a vicious cycle of grief and violence;” (Saint John Paul II,)

Dear friends, peace be with you all!
It is the peace of the Risen Christ, the fruit of his sacrifice of love on the cross.
For this reason, we raise our prayer to him:

Lord Jesus,
you conquered death without weapons or violence:
you shattered its power with the strength of peace.
Grant us your peace,
as you did to the women filled with doubt on Easter morning,
as you did to the disciples who were hiding in fear.
Send forth your Spirit,
the breath that gives life and reconciles,
that turns adversaries and enemies into brothers and sisters.
Inspire in us to trust in Mary, your mother,
who stood at the foot of your cross with a broken heart,
firm in the faith that you would rise again.
May the madness of war cease
and the Earth be cared for and cultivated by those who still
know how to bring forth, protect and love life.
Hear us, Lord of life!

Mr G’s Ponderings 13th April 2026

Forgiveness out of suffering

Holocaust Memorial

As I lit a candle at 8pm tonight, in a window of my home I thought about the many millions of people who have suffered and died at the whim of tyrannical regimes who pursued warped and insane ideologies. People who cared only about themselves and their self centred beliefs. Germany, under the power of Adolf Hitler and his Nazi’s has come to symbolize this evil which destroys others in demonic acts of unadulterated hatred. This included not only Jews but gay people, gypsies, those challenged with physical and mental illness and black people who suffered in their millions. The Germany of today is very different but these demonic inhuman acts go on still in our world today.

The taste of death; the scars of life; broken memories; shattered families; history of peoples trod upon. No words can describe what it was like or what it would come to mean. Only those who were there in the camps could even begin to tell us, just as today only those who suffer through immense acts of inhumanity can really understand what it’s like.

Yet just as at every Remembrance Sunday, the moving Khoima Epitaph is spoken with its words, for your tomorrow, we gave our today, so the candle and the prayers and the remembrance of those whose lives were destroyed in the camps has a similar message. No more evil and destruction of people in an outpouring of the demonic on that or any scale. We too gave our lives for your freedom – do not squander our sacrifice. Work for the good, the peace, the harmony of all.

We are all human and equal in God’s sight, in God’s care.

So we are to be Watchful,  having concern for and holding fast to what it means to be truly human and in love with what that involves. We are to be generous, kind, compassionate, merciful and just .

Whilst it is all too easy to be angry, hurt and resentful, about the holocaust and those who suffered so deeply, it is easy too to be angry about the treatment of refugees and displaced people of today and those living in poverty and need of all kinds. Also, those who are different in race,colour,sexuality,gender and creed. To overcome those negative feelings there must be room for ‘Forgiveness’, born out of love.

When the Ravensbruck Concentration Camp in Germany was liberated at the end of the Second World War, a prayer was found on a scrap of paper in the camp, and it is often used today in acts of remembrance for the Holocaust victims. Both the Jewish, Christian and other faiths teach followers not to seek revenge, but to pray for their ‘enemies’, for those who hurt them, or who make them suffer in some way. Although many Jews, Christians,  and those who follow other faiths  find this extremely hard, there are always some who astound us by their love and generosity.

In the Bible, God’s judgment is seen as something positive, something to look forward to.

Psalm 96 talks of the earth rejoicing and trees singing for joy when God comes to judge the earth. God’s judgment is seen as the time when wrongs will be put right, when those who suffer injustice or oppression will be rescued. But God’s judgment is also seen as merciful. Christians believe God’s judgment will rescue the perpetrators from their wrongdoing, as well as their victims.

Here is the Prayer. It is moving, amazing and deeply generous. It is born out of compassion and mercy.

Lord, remember not only the men of good will, but also those of ill will.
But do not remember all the suffering they have inflicted upon us.
Remember rather the fruits we have brought, thanks to this suffering:
our comradeship, our loyalty, our humility, the courage,
the generosity, the greatness of heart that has grown out of this.
And when they come to judgment,
let all the fruits we have borne be their forgiveness.

Then said Jesus a fellow Jew, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. (Luke 23:34)

[Mr. G]

A Reflection as we remember Maxilian Kolbe

Remembering Maximilian Kolbe (whose feast day is 14th August), and his sacrifice, took my thoughts towards Auschwitz where he died.

Few could fail to be moved by much that happened there and it is important for us to keep remembering the people who died or whose survival was perilous.  Auschwitz, has come to symbolise the totality of evil and, for the human race, its lowest ebb.  I remember Tony Blair once reminding us that it was not just human life that was destroyed but ‘human essence’.  It showed us the depths to which humanity can sink.

In our blame culture it is easy to lay all the blame on those who perpetrated the evil—not only the Nazi hierarchy but the ordinary Germans who carried out the orders.  They may well be blameworthy but recrimination has a habit of rebounding. 

The Jews we mourn, as a race suffered for centuries the guilt and blame laid on them by the Christian Church for the death of Christ. ‘Collective guilt’ has been visited on many nations in the world’s history.  The trouble is that it is always safe to blame others.  It places the spotlight on a more comfortable place.  But sometimes we need to look nearer to home.  Prejudice and hatred, fear of the different, the loss of respect and tolerance: these are the seeds of Auschwitz.  These are what destroy the human essence and they are, sadly, present in many people, if not all. 

Jonathan Sacks, former Chief Rabbi, suggested that those who suffered in the death camps bore no hate or desire for revenge.  We are challenged to take heed of the lessons Auschwitz and the suffering there includes forgiveness – maybe even for ourselves.  This is powerfully brought home in a prayer found on a piece of wrapping paper when Ravensbrück Concentration Camp was liberated:

O Lord, remember not only the men and women of good will
but also those of ill-will.
But do not remember all the suffering they have inflicted on us:
remember the fruits we bought, thanks to this suffering;
our comradeship, our loyalty, our humility,
the courage, the generosity,
the greatness of heart which has grown out of this,
and when they come to judgement,
let all the fruits that we have borne be their forgiveness.

As Jonathan Sacks says: ‘May these words light a flame in our hearts so that never again shall the cry of the afflicted go unheard’.