Pope Francis: ‘Prayer and fasting are the weapons of love that change history’

CNA Newsroom, Oct 7, 2024 / 16:00 pm

On the World Day of Prayer and Fasting held on the Oct. 7 feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, Pope Francis addressed a letter to Catholics in the Middle East on the one-year anniversary of Hamas’ attack on Israel.

In his letter, the Holy Father expressed his closeness with those “who dwell in the lands of which the Scriptures speak most often,” suffering as a result of the ongoing conflict spreading throughout the region.

“As Christians, we must never tire of imploring peace from God. That is why, on this day, I have urged everyone to observe a day of prayer and fasting. Prayer and fasting are the weapons of love that change history,” reads the Holy Father’s letter, released one day after he prayed a rosary for peace at the Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome.

“In order to bear fruit and give life, do not let yourselves be engulfed by the darkness that surrounds you. Planted in your sacred lands, become sprouts of hope, because the light of faith leads you to testify to love amid words of hatred, to encounter amid growing confrontation, to unity amid increasing hostility,” the pope said.

Middle East synod participants echo pope’s call for prayer 

Since the start of Synod on Synodality meetings in the Vatican this month, synod delegates and participants have echoed Pope Francis’ pleas for prayers and solidarity with communities across the war-ravaged region.

Synod participant Deacon Adel Abolouh of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church in Syria, who attended the pope’s Sunday rosary for peace, said it was a beautiful experience that inspires people to become “missionaries of peace.”

“After praying for peace we start having a mission of making peace happen,” he said in an interview with ACI Mena, CNA’s Arabic-language news partner.

“The pope’s invitation for prayer makes the world’s conscience realize that there are people seeking peace.”

Recalling the fear of his two children, who were awoken by Israeli missile strikes in his city of Damascus last week, Abolouh expressed his sadness for the younger generations, whose conversations now revolve around “war and weapons.” 

“The Church needs to keep pressuring the international public opinion to stop wars,” he said.

Rita Kouroumilian, a Lebanese Armenian Catholic participating in this month’s synod discussions, expressed her gratitude for the Holy Father’s closeness to the people of Lebanon, who are suffering following the escalation of the conflict last month that killed more than 500 people in a single day.

Reiterating Pope Francis’ call for peace, Kouroumilian invited everyone to continue to pray for peace in her country and the Middle East.

“The holy rosary is our only weapon against the enemy,” she shared with ACI Mena. “None other than prayer and fasting are capable of stopping the war. It is the only way to peace.”

On Saturday, Pope Francis also met with synod delegate Patriarch Raphaël Bedros XXI Minassian of the Armenian Catholic Church in Lebanon as a sign of fraternity with Lebanese Catholic leaders.

‘Praying and fasting cannot be done without almsgiving’

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Following synod meetings on Monday morning, Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, prefect of the Dicastery for the Service of Charity, invited all synod participants to donate alms for a parish priest serving Christian, Muslim, and Jewish communities near the priest’s church in Gaza.

“Prayer and fasting cannot be done without almsgiving, which must make us suffer, must even hurt us, because we give up what belongs to us to give to our neighbor who is in difficulty or is even about to die,” Krajewski stated.

According to the latest United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) report, approximately 41,600 Palestinian men, women, and children have been killed, and an additional 96,600 injured, since the escalation of the conflict one year ago. OCHA reported that more than 1,500 Israeli and foreign nationals have been killed since Hamas’ 2023 attack on Israel.