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Break Down the Climate of Mistrust — Pope Francis

There is a need to break down the climate of distrust that risks leading to a dismantling of the international arms control framework. We are witnessing an erosion of multilateralism that is all the more serious in light of the growth of new forms of military technology. Such an approach seems highly incongruous in today’s context of interconnectedness; it represents a situation that urgently calls for the attention and commitment of all leaders. — Against War: Building a Culture of Peace, p. 42

There Is A Better Way — Pope Leo XIV

Too many people are suffering in the world today. Too many innocent people are being killed. And I think someone has to stand up and say, there’s a better way than this. — Soundbite from NPR All Things Considered, April 15, 2026

The Arms Race Wastes Precious Resources — Pope Francis

The arms race wastes precious resources that could be better used to benefit the integral development of peoples and to protect the natural environment. In a world where millions of children and families live in inhumane conditions, the money that is squandered and the fortunes made through the manufacture, upgrading, maintenance, and sale of ever more destructive weapons are an affront crying out to heaven. — Against War: Building a Culture of Peace, pp. 41-42

Sojourners Verse and Voice – 22 April 2026

Verse of the day

Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these.
– Luke 12:27

Voice of the day

The more clearly we can focus our attention on the wonders and realities of the universe about us, the less taste we shall have for destruction.
– Rachel Carson

Prayer of the day

Wondrous God, fuel our appetite to learn about the natural glories of this world to resist the attempts at its ruination.

Keeping the Flame Burning — Christine Valters Paintner

“There’s the legend that St. Brigid and her community kept a perpetual flame going for hundreds of years. What does it mean to be a keeper of the flame of our own process, of our own journey? And it takes actually a community to keep that fire alight.”

–Christine Valters Paintner, PhD, Sacred Rhythms of Sky, Sun, Sea & Stone: A Creative, Online, Self-Study Retreat with the Elements
 

What is the flame you keep alight? Who is your community with whom you keep watch?

Sojourners Verse and Voice – 21 April 2026

Verse of the day

But as for you, return to your God; hold fast to love and justice, and wait continually for your God.
– Hosea 12:6

Voice of the day

One cannot live with sighted eyes and feeling heart and not know or react to the miseries which afflict this world.
– Lorraine Hansberry

Prayer of the day

Holy One, don’t let our awareness ebb. Keep our eyes fixed and our hearts ready to do your will of love.

Sojourners Verse and Voice – 20 April 2026

Verse of the day

I lift up my eyes to the hills—from where will my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
– Psalm 121:1-2

Voice of the day

The higher we go, the better we shall hear the voice of Christ.
– Pier Giorgio Frassati

Prayer of the day

God Most High, if the world is caught in ruinous lows, beckon us to heights of proactive discipleship.

Peace and International Stability — Pope Francis

Peace and international stability are incompatible with attempts to build upon the fear of mutual destruction or the threat of total annihilation. They can be achieved only on the basis of a global ethic of solidarity and cooperation in the service of a future shaped by interdependence and shared responsibility in the whole human family of today and tomorrow.Against War: Building A Culture of Peace, p. 41

International Relations and Peaceful Coexistence — Pope Francis

International relations cannot be held captive to military force, mutual intimidation, and the parading of stockpiles of arms. Weapons of mass destruction, particularly nuclear weapons, create nothing but a false sense of security. They cannot constitute the basis for peaceful coexistence between members of the human family, which must rather be inspired by an ethics of solidarity. Essential in this regard is the witness given by the Hibakusha, the survivors of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, together with other victims of nuclear arms testing. May their prophetic voice serve as a warning, above all for coming generations!Against War: Building A Culture Of Peace, p. 38

Sojourners Verse and Voice – 17 April 2026

Verse of the day

When justice is done, it is a joy to the righteous, but dismay to evildoers.
– Proverbs 21:15

Voice of the day

Don’t take yourself too seriously. Do the work, but also make sure you intentionally bring joy into your life because our job is to look at the worst things people do to each other, the ugliness–what I call the vomit of humanity.
– Loretta J. Ross

Prayer of the day

When we are overrun by the horrors of human acts, bring us beyond the threshold of inequity. Show us the beauty that can emerge from brokenness.