We have just witnessed a soccer World Cup full of twists and surprises. At the initiative of FIFA, on the sidelines of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, a campaign called “Football Unites the World” brought together the biggest stars of the game, with the common message of uniting people through soccer. The text of the Council of Religions in its entirety reads as follows:
These words have a clear intention: to create a link between peoples. One of the meanings of the word ‘religion’ is precisely this: To create the link (from the Latin religio).
For us, Mauritians, 2022 ends with a feeling of loss of link between several actors of our society. Verbal violence, the debasement of certain words, the orchestrated denigration has weakened the link that unites us. We communicate with decrees. We listen only to refute and not to understand. The link between different political, economic, social, and religious actors is crumbling. We no longer listen to our hearts and guts. We get lost in the floors of the often-monolithic thought. To connect, we need to speak the language of the heart, for it is from the heart that the truest and most authentic, even sacred, things come. Therefore, our prayer for 2023 is the following:
We pray that every Mauritian rediscovers the intelligence of the heart
We pray for the awakening of our consciences in front of the hotbeds of injustice
We pray that true compassion will be expressed instead of greed
We pray that men will respect each other, understand, and respect women and children
We pray that our children will carry the dream of a better world
We pray that our young people will escape the grip of the merchants of death
We pray that every driver will respect other road users
We pray that politics will be understood as the supreme act of love for our neighbor
We pray that our hospitals will be homes of compassion
We pray that our schools will be places of excellence, creativity and brotherhood
We pray that our authorities will be true arbiters of the space of freedom for everyone
We pray for peace to reign in each of our families and our country
We pray that our country will progress in this disruptive and uncertain world
We pray that every Mauritian will have enough to eat, have a roof over their heads and enjoy the fruits of their labor
We pray for the consolidation of the bond of brotherhood between all Mauritians and for all the builders of the bond of Peace
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We wish you a richly blessed year 2023!
