In the face of the pain and horror of the tragedy that wounds the depths of the soul, there is only room for silence. Yes, silent contemplation, the sonorous gaze, is the only serene attitude in the face of the tragedy of war. It is human to be deeply moved by the barbarity and tragedy of the innocent. And the best response to this is prayer.
1. May I never get used, Lord, to accept pain without further ado. The incomprehensible pain that penetrates man to the point of tearing him from the inside. No, sir. Make me rebellious in the face of injustice. Increase my commitment to help the helpless and to find You in weakness. Help us, Father, to improve our responses and creativity in the face of injustice and to channel as solidarity the seed of love that grows in our hearts.
2. Because peace is built from below. From families and in schools. Peace is forged by learning to love others. To the brother, yes, but also to the stranger, the stranger, the different. When my lips invoke the Our Father, I celebrate, I pray, to be a brother of the billions of people who inhabit this world, created by You. Lord, strengthen our sense of fraternity. Teach us to love our brothers and sisters, respecting them in all their dimensions. May your Word lead us to look with preference to the weak.
3. Lead us, Lord, to the peripheries. To discover them, to illuminate them, to protect them, to show them. Teach us to discover the profound richness of the wounded brother, of the needy. Teach us to heal the pain of your wounds, caring for our brother in his earthly pain. May the discovery of the mystery of your love impel us to heal the pain of withered souls. May the celebration of your truth arouse in us a zeal to love others. To be messengers of your project, Father.
4. Mary, we need now, more than ever, your motherly heart to intercede for so many victims. You, Madam understand meaningless suffering better than anyone else. You, from the foot of the Cross, are moved like no one else by the pain and barbarity of the armies. Mother, we need your tears. We need your trusting prayer to infinity. You, who are the Lady of peace. You who bore in your womb the savior of the world. We need you to be, more than ever, a refuge for Ukraine. For so many desolate hearts and for so many broken lives, Mary.
5. Prayer has always been the cord that has embroidered to you the life of the saints. Following in the footsteps of giants like Teresa of Jesus and John of the Cross, whom you raised up to enter into authentic contact with you, prayer brings us closer, helps us to enter into your logic. Well then, we need that frequent contact with whom we know you as a friend, to try to be friends, knowing that we are loved, Lord, paraphrasing the Saint of Avila.
6. This vision of prayer as the last ember of a fire that is dying out, that of faith in the only true victory, that of peace, is beautiful and sincere. As the last nail to which to fasten existence itself when all seems lost. So many people, Lord, have experienced that feeling of being on the edge… and contact with you, through prayer, has saved their lives. Today millions of Ukrainians are suffering, finding themselves at the limit of their strength, in a situation that was unpredictable only a few months earlier. Well, it is a time of prayer for all mankind.
7. Because faith is tested in moments of weakness. In the tribulation. Our hope is not founded on earthly things and attitudes. Your kingdom is not of this world. We must enter into the logic of the things of the Father, that which was so difficult for Mary and Joseph themselves to understand when you were lost in the temple, in your Father’s house. We need your strength to demolish all our expectations, our whole life so that, once it has crumbled, we can build it according to your will.
8. For your will, Father, is the only horizon to which our days tend. You know our hearts better than we know ourselves. You know about our past and our future. Therefore, all that remains is faith. If we think about it, it only makes sense to live by faith. Embrace every event, looking for your gaze. Trying to put aside our small arguments and projections, and let us be overwhelmed by your giant projects. Increase our
faith, Lord.
9. In confidence, Jesus. I cannot understand my world, this world. It is beyond me to learn every day new details of the immense wickedness of unscrupulous leaders. Of the death of children and the most vulnerable. Of the tortious and animalistic use of people. I know I can change my immediate world. The small circle of my family, my community, my friends, my co-workers. But how difficult it is to feel so powerless to stop barbarism, to find courageous and creative formulas for peace….
10. Father, I place in your hands the hope of the Ukrainian people. Protect their innocent lives. It comforts your pain. He heals his bodily wounds, but, above all, those of the soul. Help children become resilient. To learn to forgive. Care for families broken by barbarism. You, Prince of Peace, nourish men with your understanding. Bring to the hearts of the powerful the seed of your love. Grant us, Father, the gift of concord and reunion. Show us a horizon of hope and forgiveness. That we feel that we are brothers and sisters, in you, Our Father.