Bishop leads Holy Hour for Peace in the Cathedral, calls on everyone to put faith into action
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Bishop Ralph B. O’Donnell and about 70 people knelt in the presence of the Most Blessed Sacrament and prayed fervently for peace — “peace in our hearts, peace in our homes, peace in our community, peace in our Church, peace in our nation, peace in the world.”
During a Holy Hour for Peace on the afternoon of Saturday, Feb. 21, in the Cathedral of St. Joseph, Bishop O’Donnell emphasized that Jesus wants peace for every single human being, the peace that comes from God alone and must be accepted by surrendering completely to God’s providence and putting total trust in him.
The bishop referred to the fact that the entire Church is in the midst of a Jubilee Year commemorating the 800th anniversary of the death of St. Francis of Assisi, “one whose life’s work was dedicated to promoting peace and reconciliation.”
He went on to say that all would all do well to imitate the noble simplicity of St. Francis, who put all his trust in God’s providence and sought to be a channel of God’s grace.
Bishop O’Donnell prayed aloud the well-known prayer attributed to the famous mendicant.
“Truly,” the bishop stated, “the work of us Catholics is called forth through an intentional participation on behalf of the Gospel, to put into action what we have come to know and receive from Christ Jesus.”
Peace begins with each individual asking the Lord for it, consciously accepting it and intentionally sharing that peace locally and worldwide.
“We have to empty ourselves of our fear, of our pride, of our resentment,” the bishop noted. “We have to clear the way for his unconditional love to flow forth ... so that his love might truly be present in our world anew.”
