Marco Carvalho
Pope Francis asked and the local Catholic communities complied. Hundreds of people packed the local churches on Wednesday to pray for peace in the world and in Ukraine, in particular. The Supreme Pontiff called on people to pray and fast for peace in Eastern Europe.
As the threat of a global conflict looms over the planet, the Diocese of Macau joined millions of Catholics in prayer, after Pope Francis called for a day of prayer and fasting over the situation in Ukraine. Bishop Stephen Lee asked all the local parishes to promote a one-hour public adoration of the Blessed Sacrament on Ash Wednesday service.
“Pope Francis asked for an obligatory period of adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, of a moment of public prayer, to ask God for peace in the world,” the vicar of the Cathedral Church, Father Daniel Ribeiro told O Clarim.
In the Cathedral of the Nativity of Our Lady, the Portuguese language prayer was celebrated by Father Eduardo Aguero. The Dehonian missionary evoked the situation in Ukraine during his homily, claiming that all evil “is born in the heart of man.”
The same position was later upheld by Father Andrzej Blazkiewicz, who concelebrated the Ash Wednesday Mass: “In Ukraine, the war started a week ago and people all over the world expressed their indignation but, as you may have already noticed, in Syria the war has been going on for many, many years. For many years more, the conflict has destroyed the people’s livelihood and it is difficult to find a solution or identify the culprits, because, in fact, in every single conflict, all the evil comes from the heart. It is born in the human heart, mainly when someone does not relate well with himself, with God and with the others,” the Neocatechumenal missionary said.
Born in Poland – a country that since the beginning of the armed conflict, last week, has already received more than 450,000 refugees hailing from Ukraine – Father Andrzej Blazkiewicz believes that the world day of prayer and fasting for peace convened by Pope Francis is, first and foremost, a call to union around the ideals of peace and fraternity: “Prayer is an invitation for mankind to unite. Notice how the whole world unites. Evil forces cannot destroy this union. If we unite, whatever the way we channel our efforts – be it by praying, by sacrifice, by sending material help or helping those that are willing to defend those in need – unity has to be seen as a force,” the Polish priest added.
Follow
