A week before Pope Francis consecrated Russia and Ukraine to the Immaculate Heart of Mary (on March 25, 2022) Margaret Karram, made this plea for universal peace. It is part of a collective prayer for peace throughout the world, and supports the extensive network of solidarity to which members of the Movement belong.
On March 18, 2022, in front of the tomb of Saint Francis of Assisi, an exponent of fraternity for the whole human race, Karram said this prayer:
We, the members of the General Council of the Focolare Movement, gathered in Assisi, plead for the gift of PEACE!
We are here on behalf of all the members of the Movement: Christians of various Churches, believers of various religions, people who consider themselves brothers and sisters in one human family.
We make our own the cry of pain and the despair of peoples who are currently suffering because of violence, conflicts, and wars, and we turn to You, Father of all, in prayer:
Lord our God, the God of Peace, you who love each person with eternal and unconditional love, give us the grace to see Your face in every person we meet and help us pull down the walls of hostility, hatred, and destruction.
We ask you, with untiring faith, for the gift of Peace.
PEACE in the heart of every person,
especially in the hearts of those who govern peoples,
PEACE between groups, ethnicities, and nations.
We ask you especially, with the faith that moves mountains,
that there be a ceasefire in the war, and that dialogue will be victorious
‘in seeking the paths to peace’ between Russia and Ukraine.
We ask for the grace for an end to every ongoing conflict,
especially the most forgotten ones.
Lord, our God,
grant us the grace to welcome one another,
to forgive one another, and live as one human family.
Open our hearts and minds
to the needs of our brothers and sisters,
to their concerns and sufferings.
Grant that we may love other people’s countries as our own!
God of mercy and harmony, make us “instruments of Your peace.”
Yours be the praise and the glory, now and forever. Amen.
Stefania Tanesini
Focolare Communications Office
