Pax Christi Advent Resources
Last year during the first week of Advent, Pax Christi USA Bishop-President Gabino Zavala, in a homily given at the Catholic University of America, said: “I would offer that our presence in Iraq has long passed a capacity to contribute anything positive. Our 140,000 troops in Iraq are unable to stop the deepening spiral of violence. Last week we witnessed the bloodiest attacks since the U.S. invasion almost 4 years ago. It is time to bring our occupation of Iraq to an end.”
Sadly, we are here again, on the cusp of another Advent, still waiting for peace to be born into our world, especially in Iraq. But we are a people of hope, and our witness is steadfast. This Advent offers us the time and space to pray, study, and act for peace and to connect our witness with the natural cycle of our church year. Advent signifies a time of new beginnings. Let us make this Advent truly a new beginning – the dawning of peace in Iraq and throughout the world.
Pax Christi USA will provide resources for prayer, study and action throughout the Advent season. Our publications department is already accepting and receiving hundreds of orders for this year’s Advent reflection booklet, The Advent of the God of Peace (also in Spanish) by Pax Christi USA Ambassador of Peace Fr. John Dear, S.J. Two primary pieces of our Advent program for 2007, which we hope you’ll consider, are “A Daily Prayer for Peace,” and “Weekly Actions for Peace.”
