In a letter to Pope Innocent X St. Vincent de Paul described the effects of war:
…the people are split into various factions; cities and provinces are ruined by civil wars; farms, cantons, and towns are destroyed, ruined, and burned. The farmers cannot harvest what they have sown and no longer plant anything for the coming years. Soldiers do as they please; the people are exposed not only to their thefts and pillaging, but also to murder and all kinds of torture. Most of the country people are perishing of starvation if not by the sword. Not even priests escape the soldiers’ hands; they are treated with inhuman cruelty, tortured, and killed. Young women are raped, and even nuns are victims of their lust and fury. Churches are profaned, plundered, and destroyed; those left standing are, for the most part, abandoned by their pastors, so the people are deprived of the sacraments, Mass, and almost all other spiritual assistance. … It is a small thing to hear or read these things; they must be seen and ascertained with one’s own eyes. (Letter 1539. Coste IV.)
Today, war and violence are still painful realities in our world. This Prayer Corner attempts, using St. Vincent’s words and Pope Francis’ Prayer for Peace, to lead us deeper into our hearts as we pray for the PEACE we long for… the PEACE that Jesus brought on that “first Christmas day,” the PEACE that begins with and in us… PEACE who is Jesus Himself.
