From Monday 7 to Friday 11 March, during the first week of Lent, the Bishops of the Triveneto Episcopal Conference lived together the experience of the spiritual exercises.
The exercises – focused on Divine Mercy – were led by Fr. Cesare Falletti, Cistercian monk, at the “Don Paolo Chiavacci” Center for Spirituality and Culture in Pieve del Grappa – Crespano (TV).
In this time especially dedicated to silence, prolonged listening to the word of God and personal and community prayer for the needs of the Church and the world, the Bishops have constantly had in their hearts the tragic events in Ukraine and have prayed that it cease to as soon as possible the madness of war, let the weapons be silent and diplomacy and politics talk more, let them finally find space and impose the reasons for justice and peace.
They therefore entrusted their reflections and prayers in the following message:
“We Bishops of the Triveneto, gathered for the spiritual exercises, have lived this experience in the trepidation for the context of war and violation of international law which, in particular, wounds the European continent.
Awareness of the gravity of the situation characterized our prayer and, in communion with our Churches, we persevered in asking for the gift of peace on all the people involved. We have entrusted to the Father of all mercy their sufferings and the many, too many, deaths of these days.
Meditation on the merciful face of God, who manifested himself in the incarnation of his Son, motivated and strengthened our prayer. It was a burden for us not to be present in the territories of our Dioceses but for this very reason the communion in prayer was strengthened.
In any case, the necessary links and contacts have always been guaranteed to coordinate, in particular through Caritas, a pastoral action appropriate to the dramatic situation that is also manifesting itself throughout the territory of Northeast Italy.
We are aware that in recent weeks a considerable and complex conflict has exploded, with tragic expressions, and of which we are very worried about the further implications it could take.
Pope Francis gave voice to this awareness in last Sunday’s Angelus: «Rivers of blood and tears flow in Ukraine. It is not just a military operation, but a war, which sows death, destruction and misery ». And he then added: «All the Christian people […] he wants to get closer and say: “War is madness! Stop, please! Look at this cruelty! ”».
We were very struck and disturbed to see the fatigue that characterizes the evangelical witness of the various Churches that inhabit the territories today at war. The whole European continent is experiencing its repercussions. We feel the ecumenical commitment of all of us Christians weakened.
We have thus intensified our closeness to communities and groups of Christians – coming in particular from Ukraine (but not only) and who live and work among us. They remind us, from within our Dioceses, that the gift of peace is necessary for the common good.
What has been manifested in these days – and which arouses so much trepidation in hearts – becomes a strong appeal to the interior conversion of all, at every level of European and world society.
With the sense of vulnerability that we have learned from the pandemic, and to which we are still linked, with sincere humility we intend to affirm the beauty and goodness of humanity that we all together want to preserve and cherish. But this will only be possible within the horizon of a fraternity to be built with even greater conviction, with all possible means of dialogue, with the commitment required of all the social and political actors involved in the current “change of age”.
We must all help each other overcome the tremendous temptation that wars solve the problems of a complex international situation. And as believers we intend to witness and offer, daily and everywhere, our renewed trust in God, the giver of Peace.
At the conclusion of the spiritual exercises, on the afternoon of Friday 11 March, the Bishops then held a meeting of the Triveneto Episcopal Conference for an update and sharing on various themes of today’s ecclesial life.