At the conclusion of the Rosary for Peace prayed this Saturday in the Vatican Gardens on the occasion of the end of the month of May, Pope Leo XIV delivered a message focused on the need to become authentic builders of peace amid the tensions and conflicts shaking the world.
During his address, the Pontiff recalled that peace is not a theory or a utopia, but a gift from God that requires a daily commitment based on justice, truth, and love. Leo XIV also made explicit reference to the responsibility of Christians in the use of social media, inviting them to refrain from all forms of verbal and physical violence. The Pope emphasized that authentic peace bears the face of Jesus Christ and exhorted the faithful to respond with deeds, not only with words, to God’s call to be artisans of reconciliation.
Below is the full text of the address delivered by the Holy Father:
«I will listen to what God the Lord says: he announces peace to his people, to his faithful, to those who return to him with trust» (Ps 85:9).
The words of the Psalm accompany our prayer of the Rosary this evening well, because they express the hope we so greatly need, especially in the face of the difficulties and violence of the present time.
Let us therefore dispose our hearts to listen to the Word of God, so that, in prayer, we may understand the meaning of what is happening in history, recognizing the providence of God, who always guides it and comes to our aid. The Virgin Mary is the model of the believer who lends the ear of the heart to listen to «what God says». She gives us an example with her obedience, which welcomes the incarnation of the Son of God in her womb.
Contemplating with Mary the mysteries of the Rosary leads us to recognize in Jesus Christ the only definitive Word the Father has spoken, a Word of peace for all who return to Him with a repentant heart. The Lord never abandons us; even when we forget Him, even when we lose our way, He comes to seek us and draws near to us with His everlasting love. As the prophet Isaiah reminds us: «I will put on their lips: peace, peace to those far off and to those near» (Is 57:19). Whoever trusts in God understands this proclamation of peace and becomes its artisan, building it with their own hands (cf. Mt 5:9).
Peace, in fact, is not a theory to be verified in a laboratory, nor a naïve illusion, nor a matter to be managed out of self-interest. When sought with a sincere heart, it is rather a daily commitment of our life: it springs from justice and love, like a harmony that unites persons, families, communities, and peoples. Even in this time of tensions and conflicts, peace becomes possible when we are willing to listen to the cry of those deprived of it: innocent children, anguished mothers and fathers, mistreated prisoners, refugees, and people of every age who suffer. All of them have but one word on their lips: peace.
We know this: peace is always possible because it is a gift from God. This peace, His peace, bears the face of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who in His life given for us reconciled heaven and earth. As the Apostle Saint Paul writes: «He is our peace» (Eph 2:14), the One who breaks down the walls of enmity, overcomes arrogance with humility, and rescues all creation from sin.
When the Lord Jesus is with us and we behave as true disciples of His love, then the Holy Spirit can accomplish what humanly seems impossible. When, on the contrary, we distance ourselves from God, we also distance ourselves from man, from our neighbor, remaining indifferent to his pain. Every time we return to the Lord, His peace becomes our commitment, according to the tasks and responsibilities of each one.
Our prayer thus becomes mission and prophecy: there must be no more weeping of innocents in our cities; no one must flee their home because of the threat of bombs; the ambition for power and the violence of words must give way to the thirst for justice and truth. But each one can and must do their part, beginning with small but important things, refraining from all verbal or physical violence, in daily life and also on social media.
Dear brothers and sisters, true peace begins in a heart that loves; it is witnessed by lips that speak words of reconciliation; it is reflected in eyes that look upon the world with gentleness and wisdom. This is the true strength: the strength of truth and love.
God is seeking builders of peace! May our Most Holy Mother help us to respond to Him each day with our «here I am», not with words, but with deeds.