June 12. Deacon Samuel had organised a session to prepare for Youth Day and for Father’s day so that it was possible to bring parents and youth together.  With the youth they had chosen which of the beatitudes to focus on.  He was intrigued when they suggested, “Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called sons of God.”  At the session they had first separated the adults and the youth to share on the theme and later brought them together to listen to one another.  At the end he invited them to continue the sharing at home.  “Wow, I am pleased that the door was opened for us like this,” Portia commented later, “I wouldn’t have dared to say what I wanted to about peace in our home.” “It is really important for families to be able to communicate but difficult too. I’m glad it helped a little.” That was the general view and they genuinely wanted to continue the communication. Deacon Samuel prayed, “Thanks be to God!” 

Reflect, share, act. Scripture:    Seeing the crowds Jesus went up on the mountain, sat down and began to teach them.  Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called sons of God. Matt 5:1-12.  Pope Francis:   We are far from the so-called “end of history” since the conditions for a sustainable and peaceful development have not yet been adequately articulated and realised.   EG 59.   Each one of us is called to be an artisan of peace, by uniting and not dividing, by extinguishing hatred and not holding on to it, by opening paths of dialogue and not by constructing new walls.  FT 284.