October 7 “prayer, fasting and penance” for peace in the Holy Land

Jerusalem () – “A day of prayer, fasting and penance on October 7, a date that has become a symbol of the drama we are experiencing” in the month in which the Church celebrates the Virgin and precisely on October 7 ” the memory of María Reina del Rosario. This is the initiative launched by Card. Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Patriarch of Jerusalem of the Latins, in a reflection published on the eve of the first year since the outbreak of the war in Gaza in response to the Hamas attack against Israel, and in the days when fear is strong that it could spread to Lebanon. In the letter addressed to the diocese of the patriarchate and sent to for information, the cardinal highlights how in the last 12 months the Holy Land “has been plunged into a maelstrom of violence and hatred never before seen or experienced.” Faced with this escalation, he warns, “governors and those who have serious decision-making responsibilities” must respond with a sense of “justice” and respect for everyone’s right to freedom, dignity and peace.”

Below is the reflection of Card. Pizzaballa with a prayer for peace:

To the diocese of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem

Dear brothers,

May the Lord give you peace!

The month of October is approaching, and with it the awareness that for a year now the Holy Land, and not only it, has been immersed in a maelstrom of violence and hatred never seen or experienced before. In the last twelve months we have witnessed tragedies that, due to their intensity and impact, have deeply lacerated our conscience and our sense of humanity.

Violence, which has caused and is causing thousands of innocent victims, has also entered language and political and social actions. It has deeply affected our sense of common belonging to the Holy Land, our awareness of being part of a plan of Providence that has wanted us here to build together its Kingdom of peace and justice, and not to turn it into an accumulation of hatred. and contempt, mutual rejection and annihilation.

In recent months, we have already spoken out clearly about what is happening, and we have reiterated on several occasions our condemnation of this senseless war and what has generated it, calling on everyone to put an end to this drift of violence, and have the courage to find other ways to resolve the current conflict, which take into account the demands of justice, dignity and security for all.

We cannot but make a new call to the rulers and those who have the serious responsibility of making decisions in this context, to commit to justice and respect everyone’s right to freedom, dignity and peace.

But we also have the duty to commit ourselves to peace, first of all by preserving our hearts from all feelings of hatred and harboring, instead, the desire for good for all. And then committing ourselves, each in our community context and to the extent of our possibilities, to support those in need, to help those who work to alleviate the suffering of those affected by this war, and to promote all actions of peace, reconciliation and encounter. .

But we also need to pray, bring our pain and our desire for peace to God. We need to convert, do penance, ask for forgiveness.

I invite you, therefore, to a day of prayer, fasting and penance on October 7, a date that has become a symbol of the drama we are experiencing. October is also the Marian month, and on October 7 we celebrate the memory of Mary Queen of the Rosary.

May each of us, with the rosary or in the way we deem appropriate, personally, but better yet in community, find a moment to stop and pray, and bring us to “the merciful Father and God of all consolation” (2 Cor 1, 3), our desire for peace and reconciliation.

†Pierbattista Card. Pizzaballa

Patriarch of Jerusalem of the Latins

Prayer for peace

Lord our God

Father of our Lord Jesus Christ

and Father of all men

that on the cross of your Son

and with the gift of his life

at a very high price you have wanted to destroy

the wall of enmity and hostility

that separates people and makes us enemies

send to our hearts

the gift of the Holy Spirit

so that it purifies us of all feelings

of violence, hatred and revenge,

enlighten us to understand

the irrepressible dignity

of every human person

and inflames us until it consumes us

for a pacified and reconciled world

in truth and justice

in love and freedom.

Almighty and eternal God

In your hands are the hopes of men

and the rights of all peoples

assist those who govern us with Your wisdom

so that, with your help

become sensitive to the sufferings of the poor

and those who suffer the consequences

of violence and war;

get them promoted in our region

and throughout the earth

the common good and lasting peace.

Virgin Mary, Mother of Hope

obtain the gift of peace

for the Holy Land where you were born

and for the whole world. Amen.