“Peace cannot be bought, it is a gift to be sought patiently”

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In his homily at the Mass celebrated at the international stadium in Jordan’s capital, Amman, Francis said: We ought, therefore, to show concrete signs of humility, fraternity, forgiveness and reconciliation … The way of peace is strengthened if we realize that we are all of the same stock”.

“Pope Francis, Pope Francis…” On the day of Jordan’s national independence day, Arabesque pop booms out of the loudspeakers in Amman’s international stadium, as crowds awaited the arrival of the fourth Pope to visit Jordan. Francis was met with a sea of waving flags when he arrived in the Popemobile. Thirty thousand faithful were there to greet him, including many refugees from Palestine, Syria and Iraq. Jordan’s Christian minority is a community of some significance in the Middle East.

At today’s mass, 1400 children took their first communion. In his homily, the Pope commente on how close they were from the site of Jesu’s baptism and talked about “the mission of one who is a Servant, humble and meek, ready to share and give himself completely. “The mission of the Holy Spirit, in fact, is to beget harmony – he is himself harmony – and to create peace in different situations and between different people. Diversity of ideas and persons should not trigger rejection or prove an obstacle, for variety always enriches,” Francis said.

Ai cristiani il Papa ricorda l'esempio e la parola del Nazareno, traendo da questi un'indicazione per il loro futuro e per il futuro della convivenza nel Paese: «È necessario - dice - porre gesti di umiltà, di fratellanza, di perdono, di riconciliazione. Questi gesti sono premessa e condizione per una pace vera, solida e duratura». The Pope reminded Christians of the example set by Jesus and of his word, as a pointer for their future and for the future of peaceful coexistence in the country: “We ought, therefore, to show concrete signs of humility, fraternity, forgiveness and reconciliation. These signs are the prerequisite of a true, stable and lasting peace,” Francis added.

The Pope used imagery he is fond of to speak about peace and the need for everyone to contribute to making it happen: “Peace is not something which can be bought; it is a gift to be sought patiently and to be “crafted” through the actions, great and small, of our everyday lives. The way of peace is strengthened if we realize that we are all of the same stock and members of the one human family; if we never forget that we have the same heavenly Father.”

The Pope the greeted the refugees present. He said: “Let us ask the Spirit to prepare our hearts to encounter our brothers and sisters, so that we may overcome our differences rooted in political thinking, language, culture and religion.”

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ANDREA TORNIELLI