ear Parishoners and Visitors,

I wanted to share with you a few quotes. I hope that they are thought-provoking and also challenging to us.

Pope Francis said, “Let us make nonviolence, both in daily life and in international relations, a guide for our actions. And let us pray for a greater diffusion of the culture of nonviolence, which involves the lesser use of weapons, both by states and citizens.” He also said, “Those who claim to be believers should have nothing more to do with a culture based on the spirit of vengeance.”

Pope Benedict XVI said this, “Violence against even one human being is violence against all.” He also stated that “Violence is contrary to the Kingdom of God, it is a tool of the Antichrist. Violence never serves humanity but dehumanizes.”

St. John Paul says this about violence. “Violence is a crime against humanity for it destroys the very fabric of society.”

Finally, I quote our present Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, “Our neighbors are not first our enemies … but other men and women with whom we can speak.” He also said that “the value of human life, of the family, and the value of society, if we lose the sense of those values, what matters anymore.”

The words of these four Holy Fathers remind us that each person has an innate dignity, each person is deserving of being treated with respect and that we are to care for our brothers and sisters. They also remind us that as disciples of Christ, there can be no place in our hearts for war, hate, prejudice, racism, violence, or murder.

It seems to me that our country has grown in division and polarization. We view people as friend or foe. That is not the Christian way. We must be about the things of the Lord. We are people of dialogue, peace, kindness, mercy, forgiveness. We cannot be sowers of discord, hate and violence. In the last few months, we have seen horrific acts of violence. We have seen the assassination of State Representative Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark; the wounding of State Senator John Hoffman and his wife Yvette; the horrible shooting at Annunciation Church in Minneapolis, in which two children, Harper Moyski (10) and Fletcher Merkel (8), were both killed, as well as two teachers. Also, twenty-one people were wounded. Lastly, the recent assassination of Charlie Kirk.

We need to return to civility, kindness, and respect for the other person. We can disagree without being disagreeable. Pointing fingers and calling names only inflames the situation. We have to remember that it is Christ Himself who commands us to love our neighbor and to pray for those who persecute us. Turning the other cheek, being kind and forgiving are not easy, but they are the Christian thing to do. We pray that all we say and all we do will let the love, peace, and joy of Christ shine forth.

Jubilee Prayer

Father in heaven, may the faith you have given us in your son, Jesus Christ, our brother, and the flame of charity enkindled in our hearts by the Holy Spirit, reawaken in us the blessed hope for the coming of your Kingdom. May your grace transform us into tireless cultivators of the seeds of the Gospel. May those seeds transform from within both humanity and the whole cosmos in the sure expectation of a new heaven and a new earth, when, with the powers of Evil vanquished, your glory will shine eternally. May the grace of the Jubilee reawaken in us, Pilgrims of Hope, a yearning for the treasures of heaven. May that same grace spread the joy and peace of our Redeemer throughout the earth. To You our God, eternally blessed, be glory and praise forever.

Amen.

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