Detail from icon written by Br. Robert Lentz Today, Pope Benedict XVI has travelled to Assisi to hold a world day of prayer for peace on the 25th anniversary of the first interfaith world day of prayer for peace convened in Assisi by Pope John Paul II in 1986. An AP article, Rainbow of Religious Leaders Join Pope for Peace ,describes the gathering of some 300 religious leaders as well as a few agnostics. Unlike the event it commemorates, this day did not include a communal prayer, but provided quiet time for individual prayer for peace.
Religious belief never provides justification for violence and terrorism, and this diverse group reaffirms that truth.
Why Assisi? St. Francis of Assisi is known as a man of simplicity and peace. A lesser known fact, however, is that in 1219 during the crusades, he travelled across the battle lines (perhaps during a cease fire that followed a ferocious battle, to speak with the Sultan of Egypt, hoping to convert him and thus end the bloodshed.(Francis also thought he might earn martyrdom in the process.) The only reliable reports were that the Sultan received Francis with hospitality and the two of them conversed about matters of faith.
Early biographers of St. Francis say they both respected one another, and though the crusade continued, the Sultan assured Francis’ safe return across enemy lines. Stories are told about the Sultan converting to Christianity on his deathbed, but those, of course, may just be stories.
What is important to those of us who pray for peace today is that two leaders from different faiths and different states in life, met with respect and listened to one another. I imagine both came away from the meeting changed in some way. Both surely had to have grown in respect for the other.
Today’s gathering at Assisi holds a similar promise. It reminds us of the necessity of listening to one another with respect; of joining our prayers for peace, and coming away from the experience with hope that the God Who Hears All will dwell in our hearts and move them to work for peace with love, not with violence.
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