The topic was “Work for Peace,” and Dina Shabalina, OFS, discussed it from a unique perspective – from someone in the midst of war.
It wasn’t easy for her, but, as she pointed out, it’s what Franciscans do.
Dina is the Presidency councillor for northern Europe. She presented Nov. 16 via Zoom because she had to cancel her plan to attend the General Chapter after her father fell ill.
“When the war broke out in Ukraine, for the first time in my life I experienced that the words of the Gospel could make me hurt,” she told the chapter attendees. “My faith has never been tested before in such a severe way. I remember very well the very first weeks of the war when we prayed and listened to the words of the Gospel with my fraternity. It was incredible but at that moment the liturgical readings were about forgiveness and love for our enemies. These words resonated for us in a new way with the sound of air raid sirens and explosions outside the window. But they were still the words of the Good News for us.”
She asked, what distinguishes the Franciscan spirit of peace?
Dina looked to the life of St. Francis. “If Francis preached peace, he himself was filled with the peace of Christ. This is the peace we hear about in the Gospel: ‘Peace I bequeath to you, my own peace I give you, a peace the world cannot give, this is my gift to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid’.” (Jn 14:27, Jerusalem Bible).
She noted that our Rule calls us to be “bearers of peace” and that the General Constitutions indicate that peace “is the work of justice and the fruit of reconciliation and of fraternal love” (Art. 23.1 GGCC).
Like any structure, peace needs a strong foundation.
“The foundation for building peace is reconciliation, a process that can be long and painful,” and a road that is “impossible without apology and forgiveness.” It’s a constant building up, a constant cultivating of the spirit of peace. It’s the path that St. Francis walked. “This is the Gospel way, which begins in my heart. I need to have peace in my heart. I need it to be free from hatred and the desire for revenge.”
She concluded: “The power of Christ keeps my heart from hating. He gives me a powerful weapon with which to fight for peace – prayer for my enemies. This power is what helps me move from the Gospel to life and from life to the Gospel.”