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September 5. St Mother Teresa of Calcutta feastday.  PEACE ON EARTH BEGINS IN THE HOME.   (From Becoming Eco-Friendly Families)   The world of today is experiencing wars and conflicts on very serious levels and in many places.  The news we see and hear in our homes is constantly filled with reports of war and violence. How can this not influence our attitude towards life, peace and harmony?  Peace is not only an absence of war but also the harmony of right relationships and living happily, practicing the life skills that build and strengthen family relationships including gender relations.  Peace is not something passive but needs to be built. 

The topic of peace brings to mind important world figures, religious, political and social such as Mahatma Ghandi,  Archbishops Oscar Romero and Desmond Tutu.  St Mother St Teresa of Kolkata left a comfortable teaching job to go and work in the slums with the poorest of the poor. The sick and dying became her mission.  At the same time she has written: “Let us not use bombs and guns to overcome the world. Let us use love and compassion. Peace begins with a smile. Smile five times a day at someone you don’t really want to smile at; do it for peace. Let us radiate the peace of God and so light His light and extinguish hatred and love of power in the world and in the hearts of all people.
Today, if we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other- that man, that woman, that child is my brother or my sister. If everyone could see the image of God in his neighbor, do you think we would still need tanks and generals?  Peace and war begin at home. If we truly want peace in the world, let us begin by loving one another in our own families.

Reflect, share, act. Scripture:  Then the king will say to those on his right, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.” Matthew 25.  Pope Francis.   Some parts of our human family can, it appears, be readily sacrificed for the sake of others considered worthy of a carefree existence. Ultimately persons are no longer seen as a paramount value to be cared for and respected, especially when they are poor and disabled, not yet useful – like the unborn, or no longer needed, like the elderly.   We have grown indifferent to all kinds of wastefulness, starting with the waste of food. FT 18.  Eco-tip: Make a study of the life of St Mother Teresa and show support for her Missionaries of Charity. Pray Mother Teresa,witness of love and care for the needy, Pray for us. .

DAILY FAMILY PRAYER from Season of Creation 2026.  May God our Father, who brought water from a rock, sustain us in the desert. May Christ our Lord, who is Living Water, refresh us for the work of restoration.  May the Holy Spirit carry us on currents of grace until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream. Amen. St Francis guide and inspire us on our way.