Wellington’s army had been positioned in Mount-Saint-Jean, along the road which led from Charleroi to Brussels. It is the road on which All Saints’ Church stands today, just a stone’s throw from the battlefield where tens of thousands of men were killed or injured.
On the eve of Pentecost I joined in an ecumenical vigil and prayers for peace at the foot of the Butte de Lion that now marks the site of that terrible battle. We remembered those who died and prayed for them. We also prayed for the victims of war in our own troubled times. We prayed that the Spirit of Pentecost, which gathered the peoples, languages and nations of that time into one spiritual body, would unite us today in a spirit of peace, understanding and reconciliation.
Tragically, Belgium has been the arena for several international conflicts in modern times. Those of us who call Belgium our home should feel a particular vocation to pray and work for peace in our world today. Of course, this begins with peaceful and reconciled relationships with ourselves, in our families and in the communities in which we live. It also includes a commitment to peace among nations.
Mark Barwick