God’s love has no limits 🌍.
We can be friends with everyone 💞.
Love builds bridges of peace 🌉.
Based on the Word of Life (November 1994) by Chiara Lubich
🛐 Prayer to Love All People
Heavenly Father, You love everyone the same. Sorry when we leave others out. Thank You for making us one family. Please help us love beyond borders. Amen.
A story from early Ireland about how a monk-priest helped people find peace in the middle of stubborn conflicts.
Father Finian lived in Ireland during the 5th century, a time when small disagreements could grow into long, stubborn conflicts. Families argued over simple things, neighbors carried grudges, and pride often stood in the way of reconciliation. In the middle of all that, he chose a very different path.
There’s this story passed down about him: when people refused to make peace, he didn’t argue—he fasted.
Back then, fasting wasn’t just skipping meals. It was a quiet appeal for fairness or healing, a way of stepping aside so God could open hearts. And when someone respected did it, people paid attention.
Finian practiced this gently. If two people couldn’t settle a conflict, he would stop eating and pray for them. It was his way of showing that restoring peace mattered enough for him to give something up, even if the problem wasn’t his.
Word slowly spread through nearby villages, and surprisingly, it worked. People softened. Old anger eased. Those who had avoided each other finally spoke again.
He never raised his voice or took sides. His fasting simply reminded everyone that peace sometimes needs a sacrifice—and he was willing to make the first step.
That small habit stayed in Ireland’s memory for generations, a quiet sign that one man’s steady humility could calm storms that arguments never could.