Pope Leo spoke of Augustine's insight on peace, and the upcoming "Season of Creation," urging conversion of heart.
"Let us continue to pray for peace," Pope Leo said after he prayed the midday Angelus on Sunday, August 30.
He went on to say:
Saint Augustine, whose feast we celebrated a few days ago, said that peace “is like the miraculous bread multiplied in the hands of the disciples as they broke it and distributed it” (Sermo 357, 2). May there be an increase in the world of those who courageously break and share the bread of peace, overcoming divisions, promoting justice and practicing forgiveness for the good of all.
The Pope speaks of peace particularly as "unarmed and disarming." As a member of the Augustinian religious order, he repeatedly draws on the insights of St. Augustine in regard to the issues of the day, both for society and the Church.
He also noted this coming week's celebrations, in collaboration especially with the Orthodox Church.
On Tuesday, we celebrate the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation. This marks the beginning of the Season of Creation – observed by Christians of various denominations – whose theme this year is “Living Water.”
As I recalled in the Message for this Day, caring for our common home calls for a conversion of heart, so that what has been used to bring about destruction may instead be directed toward life. I invite everyone to join in prayer and action, that we may become channels of the living water of God’s peace, refreshing our wounded world.
The World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation was instituted by Pope Francis in 2015 and is observed ecumenically on September 1, the date chosen by the Greek Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch Dimitrios I for the same purpose in 1989.
