Reflection
Today let us take time to reflect and pray that the hearts of all leaders may be turned to the work of justice, the search for peace, and the wisdom to solve differences without sacrificing young lives by choosing war as the only alternative.
Reflect on those who have died or been maimed over the centuries in wars, not only military personnel but also civilians. Think of the destruction of the land and of innocent living creatures. When and for what is this really justified?
Prayer
May our God of unity and compassion, whose will is for peace, hurry an end to the hostility and violence that has engulfed the Russian-Ukraine border. May all who suffer receive comfort. May public officials and the military of all nations in this time of crisis act for the common good, offering hope and not fear when faced with the challenging difficulties and decisions before them. May the hearts and minds of those perpetrating fear, terror, and violence experience a conversion to justice and reconciliation. May our God remain near throughout this day and always, granting us peace, shalom, salaam.
Sisters of St. Joseph
Action
The Sisters of St. Joseph, Brentwood stand in solidarity with all in our fragile world who seek to live in peace. In these divisive times, our charism calls us to be instruments of unity and peace. We ask you to join us in praying for the people of Ukraine, for the tragic loss of innocent life, for the destruction of land and cities, for the painful disruption of a way of life lived in peace.
Sisters of St.Joseph
Suggested Reading
Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called children of God.
Matthew 5:9
Put your sword back in its place,” Jesus said to him, “for all who draw the sword will die by the sword.
Matthew 26:52
Wars shatter so many lives. I think especially of children robbed of their childhood.
Pope Francis
I dream of giving birth to a child who will ask, ‘Mother, what was war?
Eve Merriam
All war is a symptom of man’s failure as a thinking animal.
John Steinbeck
Mankind must put an end to war before war puts an end to mankind.
John F. Kennedy
I hate war as only a soldier who has lived it can, only as one who has seen its brutality, its futility, its stupidity.
Dwight D. Eisenhower
War may sometimes be a necessary evil. But no matter how necessary, it is always an evil, never a good. We will not learn how to live together in peace by killing each other’s children.
Jimmy Carter
Older men declare war. But it is youth that must fight and die.
Herbert Hoover
My first wish is to see this plague of mankind, war, banished from the earth.
George Washington
Can anything be stupider than that a man has the right to kill me because he lives on the other side of a river and his ruler has a quarrel with mine, though I have not quarreled with him?
Blaise Pascal