THE STEPS FOR PEACE
Peace to you all from the Garden of the Lord!
Many of us, looking at the images that come from the Holy Land, images full of suffering because of the conflict, perceive an impotence that leads us to the most true and sad consideration: "a chasm is man and his heart an abyss" (Psalm 63:7). But we must not give up and lose our trust in God who can all, the Lord, with his grace, has filled this "abyss" and has taken every man by the hand. This sacred garden "tells us": the Lord has visited the deep need of our wounded humanity: the anguish of dying, the fear of not being anyone and being abandoned, of not being loved and worth nothing.
Perhaps each of us is wondering what we can do concretely to help the Lord in this work of salvation and to implore the gift of Peace. Precisely in this holy place the Lord testifies to us that the first step taken by him in front of the countless number of needy and suffering people, is prayer! Praying is the most true and noble action that we can do now. "This is the hour of Love", said our Pope Leo. Certainly not only in words but on his example, where we are, we can live prayer deeply to experience inner peace, paying attention also to our language, disarming any aggression and discrimination. We all recognize that it is not easy to have and maintain a free heart! I think it is important to live from the Word that the Lord has given us, from his commandment of love that distinguishes us as his disciples, to live in order to be inhabited by the Holy Spirit. With great certainty we could say, again with the wise words of Pope Leo that "evil will not prevail", that the Lord truly loves us unconditionally and that the risen Jesus is our true peace. "An unarmed peace and a disarming, humble and persevering peace" (Apostolic Blessing "Urbi et Orbi", First Greeting of the Holy Father Leo XIV). He is indeed the greatest gift, which does not come from this world but comes from Heaven and it seems to me that this garden once again recalls the Presence of the One who walks with us and does not leave us alone, it is He is the one who disarms and is disarming, with that love that determines him and moves him towards us, his beloved brothers. He once again invites us with open arms: "Stay here with me, pray and watch..." (Mt 26:38,41). Let us pray to this our King, the only Savior, the Prince of Peace, the admirable Counsellor, the powerful God and Father forever, that he may reign in our heart (cf.Is 9:5-6).
Let us plead with him, together with Mary Most Holy, Queen of Peace, tirelessly for the salvation of souls and the whole world.
Good prayer and good Pentecost.
