HOLY MASS, BLESSING AND IMPOSITION OF THE ASHES HOMILY OF HIS HOLINESS POPE FRANCIS

[…] Prayer, charity and fasting need to grow “in secret”, but that is not true of their
effects. Prayer, charity and fasting are not medicines meant only for ourselves but
for everyone: they can change history. First, because those who experience their
effects almost unconsciously pass them on to others; but above all, because prayer,
charity and fasting are the principal ways for God to intervene in our lives and in
the world. They are weapons of the spirit and, with them, on this day of prayer and
fasting for Ukraine, we implore from God that peace which men and women are
incapable of building by themselves.
O Lord, you see in secret and you reward us beyond our every expectation. Hear
the prayers of those who trust in you, especially the lowly, those sorely tried, and
those who suffer and flee before the roar of weapons. Restore peace to our hearts;
once again, grant your peace to our days. Amen. […]