“People today do not know how to find peace. As Christians, we must never tire of imploring peace from God”. This is the key part of the letter to the Catholics of the Middle East, in which the Pope explains why he invited everyone, on the anniversary of the terrorist attack on Israel, to observe a day of prayer and fasting. “Prayer and fasting are the weapons of love that change history, the weapons that defeat our one true enemy”, Pope Francis recalled: “the spirit of evil that foments war, because it is ‘murderous from the beginning’, ‘a liar and the father of lies’”. “Please, let us devote time to prayer and rediscover the saving power of fasting!”, the Pope encouraged. Then he said to the Catholics of the Middle East, “but also to the men and women of every confession and religion who in the Middle East are suffering from the insanity of war: I am close to you, I am with you”. “I am with you, the people of Gaza, long embattled and in dire straits. You are in my thoughts and prayers daily”, the Pope went on to say: “I am with you, who have been forced to leave your homes, to abandon schooling and work and to find a place of refuge from the bombing. I am with you, the mothers who weep while looking at your dead or wounded children, like Mary at the sight of Jesus; with you, the children of the great lands of the Middle East, where the intrigues of those in power deprive you of your right to play. I am with you, who are afraid to look up for fear of fire raining down from the skies. I am with you, who have no voice, for despite all the talk of plans and strategies, there is little concern for those who suffer the devastation of war, which the powerful impose on others; yet they will be subject to the inflexible judgement of God. I am with you, who thirst for peace and justice, and refuse to yield to the logic of evil and, in the name of Jesus, ‘love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you’”. “Thank you, sons and daughters of peace, for consoling the heart of God, wounded by the evil of humanity”, he said at the end of the letter. “I also thank those throughout the world who assist you. I ask them, who in you care for Christ himself in the hungry, the sick, the stranger, the outcast, the poor and the needy, to continue to do so with generosity. Thank you, brother bishops and priests, who bring God’s consolation to those who feel alone and abandoned. Please look to the holy people you are called to serve and let your hearts be touched, putting aside, for the sake of your flock, all division and ambition”.