April 13th, for Muslims, was the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan, which will end on May 12th with the Id al Fitr, the second great feast day of the Islamic religion. Ramadan is the name of the ninth month of the year of the Muslim lunar calendar during which, according to Islamic tradition, Muhammad received the revelation of the Qur’an.
In the spirit of fraternity blowing throughout the world that Pope Francis has rekindled with his Encyclical “Fratelli tutti”, the Christian community likes to join spiritually the followers of Muhammad and, through the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, has sent «fraternal good wishes» to the «dear brothers and sisters» in Abraham, their common father in the faith.
Muslims live Ramadan as a time to search and meet God through the prayer, the sacrifice of fasting and the almsgiving in favor of the poorest and all that is quite similar to the spirit of the Lenten season that, for Christian , is as well a strong time for conversion.
As members of the Church and even more as Franciscan sisters, we are invited to get closer to our Muslim brothers and to ask God that their religious commitment contribute to promote and strengthen peace and brotherhood in the world. Franciscan history records that, at a time of a great tension between Christians and Muslims, whose the Crusades were one of the most violent expressions, Francis of Assisi decided to approach the followers of Muhammad through dialogue and a sincere attitude and humbly presenting himself to the Sultan, as a God’s messenger, he produced a strong impact on him and immediately earned his veneration and esteem. Biographical sources, when narrating this fact, emphasize that the Sultan perceived the fervor of spirit and the holiness of Brother Francis who had no word of contempt for the person of Muhammad or for the Qu’ran and had respect for people, recognizing in everything the action of God (cf. LMj IX, 8).
The Ramadan as a time for conversion and the 50 days of the Easter season as a time of joy and hope for the Resurrection of the Lord, are propitious terms calling upon the believers of these two great religions to return to God and to their brothers and sisters and to be messengers of peace and hope. The message of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, referring to the historical moment that we all live being «in the same boat» and rowing together in the storm, takes up this idea and affirms that «during these long months of suffering, anguish and sorrow”, people have perceived their «need for divine assistance but also for expressions and gestures of fraternal solidarity» and that «we, Christians and Muslims, are called to be bearers of hope for the present and for the life to come and to be witnesses, restorers and builders of this hope, especially for those experiencing difficulties and despair ”. As adverse factors to hope, the Message mentions: lack of faith in God’s love, loss of trust in our brothers, pessimism, despair and presumption, and taking up the words of Pope Francis in «Fratelli tutti» recalls that hope is something “deeply rooted in the human heart, independently of the circumstances and historical conditioning … it is a longing for a life of fulfillment and a desire to achieve great things, like truth, goodness and beauty, justice and love” (cf. FT 55).
With joy and faith in the Risen One, we join our Muslim brothers who make Ramadan, asking the same God in whom we believe, to help us to open ourselves to the Father of all, to strengthen our call to brotherhood and to live in peace among us (cf. FT 272).