Initiatives for peace

Children of various religions in the villages of Northern Thailand, where our community works, responded enthusiastically to the Pope's appeal for peace in Congo and in Sudan.

The presence and testimony given by Mireille, a Congolese Xaverian missionary sister in Thailand, helped the children to a better understanding of the need for peace in the world. The knowledge of people living in violence led the children to prayer and personal commitment.

            Elisabete Ferreira, a Xaverian missionary sister, animated their prayer meetings for peace by putting signs that could speak to their hearts: the world, the light and the dove of peace. After having prayed and lit before the altar their desire for peace, the children colored the world with the imprints of their hands while promising in a loud voice, never to use violence in their relationships in order to make peace visible in their daily lives.

            Prayer and personal commitment to non-violence thus gave wings to the dove of peace that the children built and made to fly at the end of the meeting.