We would like to share the theme ‘Blessed are the Peacemakers’ with you.
Please see our previous post: Blessed are the Gentle.
This beatitude links to the liturgical year and reminds us of the beatitude which tells us:
We would encourage families to go through this thought-provoking PowerPoint shared by our wonderful diocese and engage in the topics of discussion: Blessed-are-the-Peacemakers-Primary.pptx
Jesus taught us how to be truly happy or ‘blessed’. He did this when he spoke to a large crowd on a mountain.
It is called ‘The Sermon on the Mount’.
Jesus teaches that being truly blessed is not through obtaining wealth or power (as most Romans would have seen as being blessed). It is not even through strict obedience to the law (as the Scribes and Pharisees would have understood. It is through becoming meek, hungering after righteousness, being merciful and a peacemaker. The state of being blessed is about who we really are and not just what we do. As we work towards becoming blessed we have to bless the lives of others.
Recent distressing incidents have brought a piercing light on deep-seated problems in our world that need to be answered by each of us in a spirit of love and conversion of heart, as we embrace a culture of life and respect for all, remembering that every one of us is made in the image and likeness of God. Several chairmen of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops have called upon all Catholics to, “Pray and work toward a new outpouring of the Holy Spirit, the spirit of truth to touch the hearts of all in the United States and to come down upon our criminal justice and law enforcement systems.”
Last week, Pope Francis called humans to reconciliation and said “My friends, we cannot tolerate or turn a blind eye to racism and exclusion in any form and yet claim to defend the sacredness of every human life,” He added, “At the same time, we have to recognise that ‘the violence of recent nights is self-destructive and self-defeating. Nothing is gained by violence and so much is lost.”
Click here to learn more about a peaceful Saint: St Francis.
We pray for God’s help to overcome racism in all its forms and that we might protect everyone who suffers its consequences. We are all made in God’s image.
May the spirit of God unite us in love and respect, and heal our societies.
We hope these resources will be useful to you and your families.
God bless you all,
Mrs Avdiu
