The Mideast Will Awaken From Its Slumber

Pope Francis will welcome Presidents Shimon Peres and Mahmoud Abbas to the Vatican on Sunday afternoon (Pentecost) where they will spend moments praying together for peace. (D.C.L.)

The point is that as a person prays, a person changes. He transcends himself. That is, he goes out of himself. He changes. I would say that as person, the ontological footprint enlarges. And as that enlarges, the experience of self as image of God enlarges, and with that the consciousness changes.

  As Prototype of all incarnate personhood,  the Person of Jesus Christ is pure relation to the Father. When becoming incarnate, His Person revealed itself as prayer. He was always seen to be in prayer to the Father, which means that he revealed Who He is when He prayed.  This is the theological epistemology offered by Joseph Ratzinger in his “Behold the Pierced One” when he offered Lk. 6, 12; Lk. 9, 18; Lk 9, 28 as grounding texts on the point. Particularly in Lk. 9, 18, Simon enters into the prayer of Christ who is speaking with the Father in private. Christ asks him who people think He is; Simon answered: John the Baptist, Jeremiah, Elias, one of the prophets.  All mistaken, Christ then asks Simon who he thinks Christ is. Simon responds: “you are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Mt. 16, 16). Bingo! T he f ontological foot print enlarged. How did Simon know? By experiencing becoming Christ,, praying with Him. And Christ said: “Flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven. And I say to you: You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it” (Mt. 16, 17). The card that Francis is playing is that by bring both Peres and Abbas to pray to the same Transcendent God of the Muslims, the Transcendent God of Abraham and the Transcendent God of Jesus Christ, pace the religious differences,  something is going to happen. The consciousness of the three is going to change.

* * * * * * * * *

Catholic groups in Argentina are planning prayer meetings for peace to coincide with Sunday's event at the Vatican with the Presidents of Israel and Palestine and Pope Francis. 

In Argentina, ‘Un minuto por la paz,’ is directed at followers of all religions worldwide and recalls the Pope's words before leaving Jerusalem: "To construct peace is difficult, but to live without peace is agony," according to a June 5 article in L'Osservatore Romano.

Participants are asked to pray each day up until Sunday, but especially tomorrow. "Where anyone is, at 1pm, stop, kneel and recite a prater for peace, each according to their tradition," the organisers say. 

The initiative, launched by the National Commission for Justice and Peace, Catholic Action, the International Forum of Catholic Action, and the World Union of Catholic Women's organizations, has quickly spread across social media.

Meanwhile, in Italy, the president of the Italian Bishops' Conference has asked that, on the day of the meeting, faithful go to church and pray for two things: peace in the Middle East and that the Vatican prayer meeting is a success.