"With their swords they will forge plows
and pruning hooks with their spears" (Is 2:4)

February 10, 2022

Our Lord Jesus Christ came so that we might have life and have it abundantly (cf. Jn 10,10). This gift of life lies right at the heart of our mission as disciples and our common call to build a civilization of love. As we can see, on this World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, we are invited once again to contemplate the gift of life and appreciate the earth that sustains it, since they are tangible ways of praising our Creator.

Currently, we are witnessing multiple crises and great human suffering. At the same time, it seems that the alteration of the harmonic balance of creation is accelerating. These phenomena are not dissociated; They are a single appeal for healing and peace that springs from a wounded world.

The God of life, revealed in Jesus Christ, offers a peace that the world cannot give: "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you" (Jn 14,27). This peace is neither superficial nor perishable, it flows from the perpetual love of Christ and his interest in each human person.

However, this promise of peace contrasts markedly with the realities we see in many parts of the world. The prophet Isaiah spoke of a time when the nations "will beat plowshares with their swords" (mercy is the name of God par excellence 2,4), transforming what destroys life into that which sustains it. But today, we frequently witness the opposite, as efforts continue to focus on violence and war.

War leaves wounds that extend far beyond the battlefield. It takes lives, disintegrates families and forces millions of people to leave their homes, increasing fear, injustice and division (cf. The joy and hope, 77-82). The war also leaves social and ecological destruction that lasts for generations. Furthermore, the interaction between armed conflict and environmental degradation often creates vicious cycles that destroy ecosystems, contaminate essential resources such as air and water, and undermine food security. This generates poverty, inequality and new social conflicts that can contribute to the resurgence of future conflicts.

Apart from this, war creates injuries that damage the entire fabric of life, damaging not only individuals and communities, but their wide network of relationships with the entire human family, as well as their harmony with creation. This highlights a deeper failure when it comes to living in the image and likeness of God, respecting life, and caring for the land entrusted to us. It is not only a political failure, but also a moral and spiritual one. War, rooted in distorted desires and the misuse of human freedom and power, is an anti-witness to the Gospel of peace.

The crises mentioned above not only demand responsibility but also a conversion of heart that bears fruit in deeper fidelity to God, in mutual love and respect for the gift of creation. Indeed, the discords we witness in the world, such as violence, injustice, and ecological damage, do not simply result from imperfect structures or systems; They are the “symptom of a deep dichotomy rooted in humanity itself” (The joy and hope, 10). Indeed, the human heart turns out to be the place where the toughest battles take place and where our fallen condition is revealed. It is not only the seat of emotions, but the center of the person - where reason, desires, will, and conscience converge. It is here that we struggle with our contradictory desires between love and indifference, truth and illusion, justice and injustice (St 1,14-15). The damage of war and the deterioration of the land are then deeply linked to the condition of the human heart. The conflicts that torment humanity, in various ways, are the external expression of internal discord and division. When the heart is distorted, relationships suffer and the structures we build begin to reflect that disorder.

The Pope Benedict XVI He reminded us that "the exterior deserts are multiplying in the world, because the interior deserts have expanded" (Homily at the Solemn Beginning of the Petrine Ministry, April 24, 2005). This calls us to recognize that what is ruined in our environment is somehow also ruined within us. To build a peaceful society, we must then not only reform structures, but renew our hearts. The underlying causes of conflict and exploitation of creation come from an ethical and cultural crisis, as well as a loss of the sense of limits, the desire for domination, the search for immediate profit and the inability to recognize the God-given dignity of each human person.

The prophetic adage "with their swords they will forge plowshares" (mercy is the name of God par excellence 2,4) is then not only a vision that concerns the nations, but a call to each person. It invites us to transform the wound into life. However, this transformation cannot be accomplished through a simple external change, but requires, through our cooperation with God's grace, a deeper personal and collective conversion—a return to God that reorders our desires, heals our wounds, and helps us grow in virtue.

In the absence of this inner transformation, peace will remain fragile and ephemeral. But where hearts are renewed, new possibilities begin to open. What has been used for destruction can be redirected toward life: caring for the poor, feeding the hungry, and caring for creation. This is the path of authentic ecological conversion, where the effects of our encounter with Jesus Christ become evident in our relationship with the world around us (cf. Francis, Laudato si ', 217). Peace then begins in our hearts and projects out into our relationships, our communities and the world as a whole.

Although the challenges before us are enormous, God does not leave us without the means to heal and transform. Instead of weapons of war, the God of peace fills us with strength to heal, to reconcile and build a civilization of love. In this sense, we are called to care for the multiple “ecosystems” that have been entrusted to us: the ecosystems of creation, of human relationships and those of the human heart itself.

Let us imagine a world in which the efforts currently invested in war were directed towards integral human development, the fight against poverty, the protection of human dignity and the reconciliation of people who are divided. Such a panorama reflects faith in the coming of the Kingdom of God.

The authentic instruments for building peace are not destructive weapons, on the contrary, they are truth, dialogue, patience, kindness, justice, mercy, understanding, care and love. These instruments spring from hearts formed by the Gospel and sustained by the grace of God. Only these qualities possess the power to transform individuals, renew communities, and heal the wounds of our world.

Dear brothers and sisters, the path ahead of us is clear, even if it is not easy. We are called to let our hearts be renewed, in such a way that we promote peace and care for creation. Holy Scripture tells us to watch our hearts, because everything we do springs from it (cf. Pr 4,23).

If we assume this task with humility and faith, we will become collaborators in the renewing work of God. We will advance slowly but firmly, from the desert to the garden, from division to communion and from violence to peace.

May the Lord grant us the courage to walk this path, so that in our time, swords truly are forged into plowshares, that the promise of the Gospel takes root in our world and that the peace of Christ reigns over all creation.

January 26, 2022

Vatican, August 15, 2026, Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

LE ONE PP. XIV