Prayer
Easter prayer by Mgr William Shomali*
God our Lord, source of compassion and reconciliation, by the saving power of the death and resurrection of your Son Jesus Christ, you decided to save humanity from the vicious cycle of hatred, violence and death. Pour your power upon all your children in the Middle East: Jews, Muslims and Christians, Palestinians, and Israelis.
Let swords be turned into ploughshares, fear to trust, despair to hope, oppression to freedom, starvation to prosperity, occupation to liberation, and peace and justice could be experienced by all.
We pray for Jerusalem and its inhabitants so that it becomes a city where Israelis and Palestinians reside in safety and committed to the good of all. In this endeavor, make every one of us agents of your peace, O God. So may we join people of good will, who raise before Jerusalem's gates their insistent prayer: "Peace be within your walls. Peace be within you." (ps. 122: 7)
*Monsignor William Shomali is the Latin Patriarchal Vicar of Jerusalem (Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem)
This material was produced as part of the 2024 Easter Initiative of the World Council of Churches - Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel (WCC-EAPPI). As we witness violence and injustice in the Holy Land and the struggle of its peoples to find peace, the 2024 WCC-EAPPI Easter initiative lifts up the call to roll away the heavy stone of violence, war and occupation, pain and suffering, and to remind the world of what is needed to bring about peace, to transform swords into ploughshares.
