Building relationships that lead to peace can bring about dramatic changes Peace is a characteristic of the relationships Christians aim at establishing with the people they see regularly or meet only occasionally. Such relationships are based on genuine love, without deceit or insincerity, with no trace of implicit violence, rivalry, competition or selfishness. Working to establish relationships of this kind in the world can bring about dramatic changes in society. In fact, the way people normally relate to one another is entirely different and, unfortunately, seldom changes. Jesus knew what it was like to live with others, and that’s why he asked his disciples to always take the first step, without waiting for the other person to take the initiative or even respond, without expecting reciprocity. Jesus said: “I say to you, love your enemies (…). If you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others?”^[1] “They will be called children of God.” Receiving a name means becoming what that name expresses. Paul called God “the God of peace” and, in greeting the Christian communities, he said to them: “The God of peace be with you all.”^[2] Peacemakers demonstrate their kinship with God; they act as children of God and bear witness to God who, as the Second Vatican Council says, gave order to human society. And the fruit of order is peace.

Chiara Lubich

Chiara Lubich, in Parole di Vita, [Words of Life] edited by Fabio Ciardi, Opere di Chiara Lubich [Works of Chiara Lubich], Città Nuova, 2017, p. 197 [1]     Mt 5:44; Mt 5:47. [2]     See Rom 15:33, Phil 4:9.