Master General Calls Dominican Family
to Prayer for Peace

"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God".


8 August 2006 Feast of St. Dominic

My brothers and sisters:

I am writing to you at a time when violence and war are escalating in the Middle East and the world is in a state of deep crisis. Thousands of innocent people have been killed, wounded or have lost their homes. It is an uncertain and critical time, one which calls us to deepen our faith in a God of peace and in hope that peace will return to the region and to other troubled areas of our world.

More and more, the Dominican Family is being urged to raise the call for Peace and to be the peacemakers that our Lord Jesus Christ calls us to be in Matthew's Gospel. How can we be peacemakers in this time?

At the request of the International Dominican Commission for Justice and Peace I invite all Dominicans around the world to join together in prayer for peace on September 21, 2006, a day designated by the United Nations as International Day of Peace.

As a sign of solidarity and in hope that peace may come to our world, we are asking all the members of the Dominican Family around the world to join us in a simple gesture of prayer for peace. We believe, as you do, that Jesus Christ calls us to be peacemakers and praying together is a sign of our belief that peace is possible.

On the United Nations International Day of Peace, September 21, we ask the Dominican Family to hold a holy hour together in whatever circumstance s are appropriate. We encourage you to walk for peace, hold a procession, or stand on a street corner ; light candles, ring bells. Hold public prayers for peace. Invite your friends and neighbors to join you in solidarity and in a hope that peace may come to the world wherever violence and hatred are present.

I want to express my deepest support and encouragement to the International Dominican Commission for Justice and Peace who are asking us to join them on this day of peace.

We pray that you may find ways to participate in this prayer that will wrap the world in God's grace and hope.

Your brother in Christ and Dominic,

Brother Carlos Azpiroz Costa
Master of the Order