Prayer for peace
The prayer for peace is held in the Basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere.
Reading of the Word of God
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
This is the Gospel of the poor,
liberation for the imprisoned,
sight for the blind,
freedom for the oppressed.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Matthew 5,38-42
'You have heard how it was said: Eye for eye and tooth for tooth. But I say this to you: offer no resistance to the wicked. On the contrary, if anyone hits you on the right cheek, offer him the other as well; if someone wishes to go to law with you to get your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. And if anyone requires you to go one mile, go two miles with him. Give to anyone who asks you, and if anyone wants to borrow, do not turn away.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
The Son of Man came to serve,
whoever wants to be great
should become servant of all.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Speaking of oppositions, Jesus now takes the passage from the Old Testament that records the so-called law of retaliation: "You have heard that it was said, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth." Through this it was intended, in some way, to put a limit to the spirit of vengeance. Jesus, with his teaching, wants to root out the evil of violence. Evil is not to be governed, it is to be eradicated, says Jesus. And the only way to defeat it is through superabundant love. Evil cannot be overcome with more evil, even if it is regulated, but only with an even more generous good. Jesus, in effect, overturns with these statements the mentality of his time - still widespread today - and asks the disciple not only to banish revenge from his behaviour, but even to turn the other cheek. Jesus proposes to men and women a new way of living that is centred entirely on love. Those who let themselves be guided by love defeat evil with the superabundance of good. If one loves, one also offers one's cloak to those who ask it of him, and is ready to go even twice as far to those who ask for his company, and does not turn his back on those who ask for help. With love one defeats evil at its birth and opens the way to a worthy life.