May the Peace of God be upon you all!
This year, God wants Christians and Muslims to live Lent and Ramadan together for almost three weeks. During these days, each in our own way and according to our age-old traditions, we try to get closer to God by following His paths (the “straight paths” mentioned in Surah Al-Fatiha 6) and by reading His Word. We try to reconcile with our brothers and sisters by “forgiving with beautiful forgiveness” (Surah Al-Hijr 85) and to share what we have with those who need it (“for charity covers a multitude of sins” 1st Epistle of Saint Peter 4,8). And we try to submit our bodies to the penance of fasting which makes us discover that without God we can do nothing (Gospel according to Saint John 15,5) and that He is and always will be the one and only Good.
Our paths therefore cross mysteriously once again during these days. We would like, as Franciscan brothers also seeking to conform our lives to the will of God, to assure you of our prayer and our closeness during this month which is so important for everyone. May God, in His infinite mercy, grant us to do more and more every day what pleases Him.
In these times when the peace of the world seems so compromised and when so many peoples are experiencing the open wound and scandal of war, we would also like to invite you to pray particularly with us so that the peace of God surpasses all selfishness and all fears, in Gaza, in Ukraine, in the Congo and in so many less publicized places in our world, our societies and our families. May our prayers and our efforts to live better together on this earth unite so that God’s plan for humanity can be achieved.
Happy and holy month of Ramadan to you all!
The General Commission of the Order of the Friars Minor for the service for Dialogue
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