For many people around the world hoping and praying for successful peace talks between the United States and Iran, the announcement on April 12 that no agreement was reached after more than 20 hours of negotiations must have been severely disappointing.
This would be especially so for Catholics who had attended or watched the Prayer Vigil for Peace at St Peter’s Basilica just the previous day, in which Pope Leo XIV and others prayed for peace in a moving prayer service.
In the wake of the announcement of the failed talks, the very next day, many would probably be wondering: What now? More bombings, more lives lost? It is tempting to feel dejected in such circumstances, especially when the war threatens the global economy, leaving countries not involved in the conflict forced to deal with the consequences.
However, watching and listening to the Pope’s reflection towards the end of the prayer vigil, several of his remarks caught my attention. They have to do with the power of prayer in the midst of the violence and senselessness of war.
“Prayer teaches us how to act,” said the Pope. “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.”
I believe the Pope just handed us the key to alleviate what seems intractable. It is the power of prayer.
“Within each of us, within every human being, the interior Teacher teaches peace, urges us toward encounter and inspires us to make supplication,” the Pope said. He urged his listeners to “turn to a Kingdom of peace that is built up day by day, in our homes, schools, neighbourhoods, and civil and religious communities.”
Towards the end of his reflection, he entreated: “Let us return home having made a commitment to pray without ceasing and without growing weary, a commitment to a profound conversion of heart,”
So here, apparently, is the Christian’s weapon to bring about transformative change: prayer. In the wake of his remarks, it behoves dioceses, parish organisations, prayer groups and families to pray unceasingly for God to bring about peace and healing at this point of time in humanity’s history.
As the Pope put it, quoting from his World Day of Peace Message on January 1 this year, “Now more than ever, we must show that peace is not a utopia.”
To read the Pope’s full message: Prayer Vigil for Peace
