Peace is a Gift We Must Work For

From Dan Conway’s The Good Steward, February 2007

In his 2007 World Day of Peace message, Pope Benedict XVI clearly follows the peace-making path established by his predecessors (including Benedict XV, who sought to end the First World War.) Citing support from sources as diverse as St. Augustine, St. Francis of Assisi, the Second Vatican Council, Pope John Paul II and Mahatma Gandhi, the Holy Father makes the case that peace is a gift we must work for.

Peace is a gift from God, the pope teaches, because it is rooted in the wonder of creation and the gift of life itself. Peace springs from the sacredness and dignity of human life. It is one of the inalienable rights given to us by God. It is also one of the sacred duties given by the Creator to the human persons he has named as stewards of all his gifts – material and spiritual.

Pope Benedict says that peace is “a task demanding of everyone a personal response consistent with God’s plan.” The rulers of individual nations and leaders in the international community are entrusted with special responsibilities for safeguarding and defending peace on earth. But every human person has an important role to play in the search for peace. According to the Holy Father, “All peoples – within their respective cultures – can draw near to the greatest mystery, which is the mystery of God.” All who wish to be peacemakers must, first of all, work to achieve “a dialogue between the followers of different religions and between believers and non-believers,” which the pope says is the “great point of convergence” and the “fundamental presupposition for authentic peace.” …

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