By Mia Wugol
More than 200 people prayed at the Redemptorist Monastery on 19 March for an end to war, homelessness, poverty, child abuse and for the victims of the recent spate of natural disasters around the world.
People came from as far as Fremantle and Armadale for the 11th peace vigil in North Perth to pray especially for victims of the recent earthquakes in Christchurch, New Zealand and Japan, and for the floods in Queensland and NSW.
Fr Leo Agapo CSsR addressed the gathering and exposed the Blessed Sacrament during the vigil, which featured the song of St Francis, Make me a channel of your peace.
The event began with a half hour session, 20 minutes of hymns, prayers, Scripture readings and reflections for peace in the world, communities and in the hearts of men.
Organisers opened the event to the wider public and other Christian denominations, with Greek Orthodox and Anglicans invited.
Organisers said the aim was to raise awareness in the Church community of the responsibility for those in need.
They told The Record that these “needy” are “not just ‘them’ but those who are indeed our brothers and sisters”.
“Raising our awareness of injustice in our world helps us to overcome our sense of disconnection with those who suffer, to knowing we are all one family belonging to one earth – all children of God,” organisers told The Record. “When that sense of belonging begins to happen, attitudes change and changed behaviour follows. God’s reign begins to come and peace begins to be a reality. For, as Pope John Paul II said, ‘without justice, there can be no peace’.”
Supper provided outside the church during the event provided hospitality and a “listening ear to those participants who were looking for someone to confide their troubles to”, organisers said.