War Begins in the Heart and Ends in the World

Envy, greed, and hate in the heart will breed war, violence and murder in the world.

War begins in the heart and finishes out in the world. The news we see in the papers or on television. Today so many people die and that seed of war, which breeds envy, jealousy and greed in my heart, is the same - grown up, become a tree - as the bomb which falls on a hospital, on a school and kills children.

Drawing from the story in Genesis of the Dove returning to Noah after the flood, God gave the rainbow and the dove to demonstrate His promise and desire for peace to reign in the world among every people. The signs also represent how fragile peace can be.

The dove is a sign of what God desired after the flood: Peace, that is, that all would live in peace. The dove and the rainbow are fragile. The rainbow is beautiful after a storm, but then a cloud comes and it disappears.

God's covenant is strong but our comitment to is weak.

The covenant which God makes is strong, but we accept it in weakness. God makes peace with us but it is not easy to care for peace. It is a daily task, because within each of us is that seed o original sin, that is, the spirit of Cain which - for envy, jealousy, greed and the desire to dominate - leads to war.

The responsibility of peace falls on every person; that we are our brothers' keeper, and when there is blood spilt, there is sin, and God will demand an accounting of the blood of our brothers and sisters who are suffering war.

In today's world there is blood being spilt. Today the world is at war. Many brothers and sisters are dying, even innocent people, because the great and powerful want a larger slice of the earth; they want a little more power, or they want to make a little more money on arms trafficking.

Every man is a delegate of peace and has an obligation to ensure less blood is spilled in the future, how war first festers in homes with families and friends.

How do I care for peace in my heart, in my interior, and in my family? Care for peace; not only care for it but make it with your hands every day. Just so will we succeed in spreading it throughout the whole world.

May the Lord give us the grace to say: "War is finished. War is finished in my heart; war is finished in my family; war is finished in my neighborhood; war is finished in my workplace; war is finished in the world". In this way shall the dove, rainbow and Covenant be strengthened.