Prayer for Peace

I had a discussion with a friend tonight about how sad it is that Barack Obama won the Nobel PEACE Prize and is now having to send 30,000 more troops into Afghanistan to continue fighting in a WAR that has been going on for several years now.

Whether we like it or not, we are a nation involved in a war that is NOT just.
Just War theory defines very specific details of when war can be used, and it is very clear that it is only a last resort. According to most (if not all) Catholic theologians, the just war criteria were not met prior to launching into this war. Regrettably, most Catholics are silent, perhaps even indifferent on the matter. It is a grave injustice, and yet we often do nothing to stop it.

It seems that the saints were very different in their approach. Consider Pope John Paul II's strong words: "War is always a defeat for humanity."

And also - consider the words and example of Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati. In A Man of the Beatitudes: Pier Giorgio Frassati, Lucianna Frassati writes:

p. 38

"The Great War continued with its tremendous weight of sacrifice. Pier Giorgio withdrew into long silences, interrupting his reflections with agonized questions on the drama of the dead, the wounded, and the widows. He often spoke about it with Natalina Novo, the servant girl, whose brother had already been killed in the war. One day she told him the news she had heard from our father: "Two thousand mountain troops cut off from the Italian lines and shelled by enemy cannons."

Dismayed, my brother asked her: "Natalina, wouldn't you give your life to stop the war?"

"Certainly not," replied Natalina. "I am young and my life is as dear to me as that of the soldiers."

Pier Giorgio stared at her, saying, "I would, I would today."

Would that we young Catholics had the same yearning for peace!
Let us all take some time to pray for peace.

God our Father,
Creator of the world,
You established the order which governs all the ages.
Hear our prayer and give us peace in our time,
that we may rejoice in Your mercy
and praise You without end.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ Your Son,
who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
One God forever and ever. Amen.