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On this blessed Monday as we celebrate dear God our Father the Memorial of the first Korean priest, St. Andrew Kim Taegon and his companion martyrs led by St. Paul Chong Hasang, we pray you may bless like King Cyrus of ancient Persia more world leaders and most especially heads of many religions to be instruments of unity instead of divisions.
In the first year of Cyrus, king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah, the Lord inspired King Cyrus of Persia to issue this proclamation throughout his kingdom, both by word of mouth and in writing: “Thus says Cyrus, king of Persia: ‘All kingdoms of the earth the Lord, the God of heaven, has given to me, and he has also charged me to build him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Therefore, whoever among you belongs to any part of his people, let him go up, and may his God be with him!’”
Ezra 1:1-3
How sad, O God that throughout history up to the present time, men have ironically waged wars on other peoples and nations primarily in the name of their God, instead of bringing love and understanding, they have caused so much hatred and sufferings; the only truth proven that in war, nobody wins except more coffins are nailed with beloved children inside as victims and casualties.
Jesus said to the crowd, “No one who lights a lamp conceals it with a vessel or sets it under a bed; rather, he places it on a lampstand so that those who enter may see the light.”
Luke 8:16
Dear Jesus, enlighten our minds and our hearts with your light in the Holy Spirit to illumine the world with more love and acceptance of each other and their faith; please, like King Cyrus of ancient Persia, may we all realize that our religion should bring us closer to each other and not bring us apart. Amen.
