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Vatican
City, 9 June 2014 (VIS) – Yesterday afternoon the Vatican Gardens
hosted the Invocation for Peace, the initiative Pope Francis proposed
to presidents Shimon Peres and Mahmoud Abbas during his recent
pilgrimage to the Holy Land, to pray for the gift of peace for the
Israeli and Palestinian peoples. Peres and Abbas arrived in the
Vatican at 6.15 and 6.30 p.m. respectively, and were received by the
Holy Father at the entrance of the Domus Sanctae Marthae, where he
spoke briefly first with the Israel president, and then with the
Palestinian.
Shortly
after, they entered the Santa Marta Hall where they were joined by
the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomaios I, and then transferred by car
to the Vatican Gardens where they were awaited by their respective
delegations. The meeting began with the following words: “May the
Lord grant us peace! We are gathered here, Israelis and Palestinians,
Jews, Christians and Muslims, to offer our prayer for peace for the
Holy Land and for all its inhabitants”.
As
previously explained, the meeting took place in three phases,
followed by a conclusion. Following the chronological order of the
three religions, it began with the Jewish community, followed by
Christians, and finally Muslims. The first phase, for the three
communities, consisted of praise to God for the gift of creation and
for having made us members of one human family. The second was a plea
to God for forgiveness for not having acted like brothers and
sisters, and for our sins against God and neighbour. The third
invokes from God the gift of peace in the Holy Land and the capacity
to be converted into builders of peace. Each of these phases was
accompanied by a brief musical interlude. A longer musical meditation
concluded each of the three principal parts. At the end, before
exchanging handshakes and planting an olive tree as a symbol of the
common desire for peace between the Palestinian and Israeli peoples,
the Holy Father, President Shimon Peres and President Mahmoud Abbas
all gave brief discourses.
“Distinguished
Presidents”, began Pope Francis, “I greet you with immense joy
and I wish to offer you, and the eminent delegations accompanying
you, the same warm welcome which you gave to me during my recent
pilgrimage to the Holy Land. I am profoundly grateful to you for
accepting my invitation to come here and to join in imploring from
God the gift of peace. It is my hope that this meeting will be a path
to seeking the things that unite, so as to overcome the things that
divide. I also thank Your Holiness, my venerable Brother
Bartholomaios, for joining me in welcoming these illustrious guests.
Your presence here is a great gift, a much-appreciated sign of
support, and a testimony to the pilgrimage which we Christians are
making towards full unity”.
“Your
presence, dear Presidents, is a great sign of brotherhood which you
offer as children of Abraham. It is also a concrete expression of
trust in God, the Lord of history, Who today looks upon all of us as
brothers and Who desires to guide us in His ways. This meeting of
prayer for peace in the Holy Land, in the Middle East and in the
entire world is accompanied by the prayers of countless people of
different cultures, nations, languages and religions: they have
prayed for this meeting and even now they are united with us in the
same supplication. It is a meeting which responds to the fervent
desire of all who long for peace and dream of a world in which men
and women can live as brothers and sisters and no longer as
adversaries and enemies”.
“Dear
Presidents, our world is a legacy bequeathed to us from past
generations, but it is also on loan to us from our children: our
children who are weary, worn out by conflicts and yearning for the
dawn of peace, our children who plead with us to tear down the walls
of enmity and to set out on the path of dialogue and peace, so that
love and friendship will prevail. Many, all too many, of those
children have been innocent victims of war and violence, saplings cut
down at the height of their promise. It is our duty to ensure that
their sacrifice is not in vain. The memory of these children instils
in us the courage of peace, the strength to persevere undaunted in
dialogue, the patience to weave, day by day, an ever more robust
fabric of respectful and peaceful coexistence, for the glory of God
and the good of all. 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; yes to sincerity and no to duplicity. All of this takes
courage, it takes strength and tenacity”.
“History
teaches that our own powers do not suffice. More than once we have
been on the verge of peace, but the evil one, employing a variety of
means, has succeeded in blocking it. That is why we are here, because
we know and we believe that we need the help of God. We do not
renounce our responsibilities, but we do call upon God in an act of
supreme responsibility before our consciences and before our peoples.
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”.
“To
him, the Father, in the Spirit of Jesus Christ, I now turn, begging
the intercession of the Virgin Mary, a daughter of the Holy Land and
our Mother. Lord God of peace, hear our prayer! We have tried so many
times and over so many years to resolve our conflicts by our own
powers and by the force of our arms. How many moments of hostility
and darkness have we experienced; how much blood has been shed; how
many lives have been shattered; how many hopes have been buried…
But our efforts have been in vain. Now, Lord, come to our aid! Grant
us peace, teach us peace; guide our steps in the way of peace. Open
our eyes and our hearts, and give us the courage to say: 'Never again
war!'; 'With war everything is lost'. Instil in our hearts the
courage to take concrete steps to achieve peace. Lord, God of
Abraham, God of the Prophets, God of Love, You created us and You
call us to live as brothers and sisters. Give us the strength daily
to be instruments of peace; enable us to see everyone who crosses our
path as our brother or sister. Make us sensitive to the plea of our
citizens who entreat us to turn our weapons of war into implements of
peace, our trepidation into confident trust, and our quarrelling into
forgiveness. Keep alive within us the flame of hope, so that with
patience and perseverance we may opt for dialogue and reconciliation.
In this way may peace triumph at last, and may the words 'division',
'hatred' and 'war' be banished from the heart of every man and woman.
Lord, defuse the violence of our tongues and our hands. Renew our
hearts and minds, so that the word which always brings us together
will be 'brother', and our way of life will always be that of:
Shalom, Peace, Salaam! Amen”.
President
Shimon Peres then addressed those present: “I have come from the
Holy City of Jerusalem to thank you for your exceptional invitation”,
he said. “The Holy City of Jerusalem is the beating heart of the
Jewish people. In Hebrew, our ancient language, the word Jerusalem
and the word for peace share the same root. And indeed peace is the
vision of Jerusalem. As it is said in the Book of Psalms: Pray for
the peace of Jerusalem. May those who love you be secure. May there
be peace within your walls and security within your citadels. For the
sake of my family and friends, I will say, 'Peace be within you'. For
the sake of the house of the Lord our God, I will seek your
prosperity”.
“During
your historic visit to the Holy Land, you moved us with the warmth of
your heart, the sincerity of your intentions, your modesty, and your
kind ways. You touched the people’s hearts – regardless of their
faith or nation. You emerged as a bridge-builder of brotherhood and
peace. We are all in need of the inspiration which accompanies your
character and your way. Thank you”.
“Two
peoples – Israelis and Palestinians – still are aching for peace.
The tears of mothers over their children are still etched in our
hearts. We must put an end to the cries, to the violence, to the
conflict. We all need peace. Peace between equals. Your invitation to
us to join you in this momentous ceremony to call for peace, here in
the Vatican garden, in the presence of Jewish, Christian, Muslim, and
Druze leaders,graciously reflects your vision of the aspiration we
all share: Peace. On this moving occasion, brimming with hope and
full of faith, let us all raise with you, Your Holiness, a call for
peace between religions, between nations, between communities, and
between fellow men and women. Let true peace become our legacy soon
and swiftly”.
“Our
Book of Books commands upon us the way of peace, demands of us to
toil for its realization. It is said in the book of Proverbs: 'Her
ways are ways of grace, and all her paths are peace'. So too must our
ways be. Ways of grace and peace. It is not by chance that Rabbi
Akiva captured the essence of our Torah in one sentence: 'Love your
neighbour like thyself'. We are all equal before the Lord. We are all
part of the human family. For without peace, we are not complete, and
we have yet to achieve the mission of humanity. Peace does not come
easy. We must toil with all our strengths to reach it. To reach it
soon. Even if it requires sacrifice or compromise. The Book of Psalms
tells us: 'Whoever loves life and desires to see many good days, keep
your tongue from evil and your lips from telling lies. Turn from evil
and do good, seek peace and pursue it'”.
“This
is to say, we are commanded to pursue after peace. All year. Every
day. We greet each other with this blessing. Shalom. Salam. We must
be worthy of the deep and demanding meaning of this blessing. Even
when peace seems distant, we must pursue it to bring it closer. And
if we pursue peace with perseverance, with faith, we will reach it.
And it will endure through us, through all of us, of all faiths, of
all nations, as it is written: 'They will beat their swords into
plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take
up sword against nation, nor will they train for war any more'. The
soul is elated upon the reading of these verses of eternal vision.
And we can – together and now, Israelis and Palestinians –
convert our noble vision to a reality of welfare and prosperity. It
is within our power to bring peace to our children. This is our duty,
the holy mission of parents. Let me end with a prayer: He who makes
peace in the heavens shall make peace upon us and upon all of Israel,
and upon the entire world, and let us say Amen”.
Finally,
the president of Palestine, Mahmoud Abbas, said: “It is indeed a
great honour for us to meet again with His Holiness Pope Francis in
fulfilment of his kind invitation to relish his spiritual and noble
presence, and listen to his opinion and crystal wisdom, which emanate
from a sound heart, vibrant conscience, as well as an elevated
ethical and religious sense. I thank your Holiness from the bottom of
my heart for initiating this important gathering here in the Vatican.
Simultaneously, we highly appreciate your visit to the Holy Land
Palestine, and in particular to our Holy city Jerusalem and to
Bethlehem, the city of love and peace, and the cradle of Jesus
Christ. The visit is a sincere expression of your belief in peace and
a truthful attempt to achieve peace between Palestinians and
Israelis”.
“Oh
God, we ever praise You for making Jerusalem our gate to heaven. As
said in the Holy Quran, '?Glory to Him who made His servant travel by
night from the sacred place of worship to the furthest place of
worship, whose surroundings we have blessed'. You made pilgrimage and
prayer in it as the best acts the faithful can make in your praise,
and made your truthful promise in your say: 'Let them enter the
Masjid as they did for the first time'. God Almighty has spoken the
truth”.
“O,
Lord of Heaven and Earth, accept my prayer for the realisation of
truth, peace and justice in my country Palestine, the region, and the
globe as a whole. I beseech You, O Lord, on behalf of my people, the
people of Palestine - Muslims, Christians and Samaritans – who are
craving for a just peace, dignified living, and liberty, I beseech
you, O Lord, to make prosperous and promising the future of our
people, and freedom in our sovereign and independent state; Grant, Oh
Lord, our region and its people security, safety and stability. Save
our blessed city Jerusalem; the first Kiblah, the second Holy Mosque,
the third of the two Holy Mosques, and the city of blessings and
peace with all that surround it.
“Reconciliation
and peace, O Lord, are our goal. God in His Holy Book has addressed
the faithful: 'Make peace among you'. Here we are, O God, inclined to
peace. Make firm our steps and crown our efforts and endeavours with
success. You are the promoter of virtue and preventer of vice, evil
and aggression. You say and you are the most truthful, 'And if they
incline to peace, incline thou also to it, and trust in Allah. Lo! He
is the Hearer, the Knower'. In the saying of Prophet Muhammad,
'Spread the peace among you'.
“Today,
we reiterate after Jesus Christ addressing Jerusalem: 'If only you
had known the path of peace this day'. Also let us remember the words
of Saint John Paul II when he said: 'If peace is achieved in
Jerusalem, peace will be witnessed in the whole world"
Simultaneously, in our prayer today, we repeatedly call after those
who advocate peace:'Blessed are the peacemakers', and 'Call for the
peace of Jerusalem', as came in the Holy Scriptures”.
“Accordingly,
we ask You, O Lord, for peace in the Holy Land, Palestine, and
Jerusalem together with its people. We call on you to make Palestine
and Jerusalem in particular a secure land for all the believers, and
a place for prayer and worship for the followers of the three
monotheistic religions Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and for all
those wishing to visit it as it is stated in the Holy Quran”.
“O
Lord, You are the peace and peace emanates from You. O God of Glory
and Majesty grant us security and safety, and alleviate the suffering
of my people in home town and diaspora. O Lord, bring comprehensive
and just peace to our country and region so that our people and the
peoples of the Middle East and the whole world would enjoy the fruit
of peace, stability and coexistence. We want peace for us and for our
neighbours. We seek prosperity and peace of mind for ourselves and
for others alike. O Lord, answer our prayers and make successful our
endeavours for you are most just, most merciful, Lord of the Worlds.
Amen!”
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