Catholics pray before the Blessed Sacrament last month at St. Patrick Parish in Iowa City.
For The Catholic Messenger
DAVENPORT — The faithful in the Diocese of Davenport are invited to join Bishop Dennis Walsh in an initiative for “healing of our communities and our nation” this Lenten season with a Holy Hour for Peace and Justice.
Archbishop Paul S. Coakley, president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, recommends that dioceses offer the special holy hour.
“Let us pray for reconciliation where there is division, for justice where there are violations of fundamental rights, and for consolation for all who feel overwhelmed by fear or loss,” Archbishop Coakley said. “I encourage Catholics everywhere to participate, whether in parishes, chapels, or before the Lord present in the quiet of their hearts for healing in our nation and communities.”
Bishop Walsh said, “In light of the extraordinary political upheaval and tension currently fracturing our communities, our families, and even the body of the Church itself, I believe this is not just a recommendation, but a spiritual necessity.”
“We find ourselves in a moment where it is increasingly difficult to discern what is true. Our daily lives are inundated with ideological narratives and political theater that often obscure the Gospel. This atmosphere of division breeds mistrust and distance between us,” the bishop added. “In his 1972 World Day of Peace message, St. Paul VI stated, ‘If you want peace, work for justice.’ Peace is not merely the absence of conflict; it is the fruit of a right relationship with God and one another. To work for justice, we must first have the grace to see clearly.”
As the spiritual writer Henri Nouwen emphasized, prayer is the primary way we transform our hearts, our desires, and our way of seeing the world.
Bishop Walsh said it is his hope that collective prayer during this Lenten season will grant us the grace to:
- Discern the truth amidst the noise of modern rhetoric.
- Change our hearts to move beyond partisan divisions.
- Become prophets of justice who lead by example rather than by ideology.
“I ask that each parish offer this Holy Hour for Peace and Justice on multiple occasions throughout Lent,” Bishop Walsh said. Clergy were sent a sample holy hour booklet for planning a service.
Bishop noted that even if there may not be many in attendance, he asks clergy to hold the holy hour in their church. “Your public presence before the Blessed Sacrament serves as a vital public witness to our priestly and diaconal vocation. We are called to be prophets in our world — standing in the breach and interceding for the people we serve.”
