The Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue released a message addre-ssed to Muslims today titled ‘Christians and Muslims: Witnesses of Hope’ on the occasion of Ramadan and ahead of the feast of Id al-Fimr, the Festival of Break-ing the Fast, which marks the end of the holy month.
Signed by the president of the Pontifical Council, Card Miguel Ángel Ayuso Guixot, MCCJ, and its secretary, Fr Indunil Kodithuwakku Janakaratne Kankanamalage, the statement stresses the meaning hope has for believers, based on the “belief that all our problems and trials have a meaning, a value and a purpose, however difficult or impossible it may be for us to understand the reason for them or to find a way out of them.”
“During these long months of suffering, anguish and sorrow, especially during the lockdown periods, we sensed our need for divine assistance, but also for expressions and gestures of fraternal solidarity: a telephone call, a message of support and comfort, a prayer, help in buying medicines or food, advice, and, to put it simply, the security of knowing that someone is always there for us in times of necessity.
“The divine assistance that we need and seek, especially in circumstances like those of the current pandemic, is manifold: God’s mercy, pardon, providence and other spiritual and material gifts.”
“While optimism is a human attitude, hope has its basis in something religious: God loves us, and therefore cares for us through his providence. He does this in his own mysterious ways, which are not always comprehensible to us.”