A Reflection for the Wednesday of the First Week of Advent, by Kevin Clarke

How to restore peace in Israel and Gaza now after this historic outbreak of violence and mutual suffering? It will take outside pressure on both Israel and Hamas.

The pastor at a Greek Orthodox church in Gaza organized a hurried baptism celebration for nine children after two unbaptized children were killed in an I.D.F. missile strike on the compound on Oct. 20.

A Reflection for Tuesday of the Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time, by Kevin Clarke

Kerry Alys Robinson began her tenure as chief executive of Catholic Charities USA with a visit to agencies along the southwest border. “I wanted to see firsthand what the realities were," she explained.

Commenting on President Biden’s visit to Israel, C.R.S. President Sean Callahan said, “We appreciate the president’s call for respect for the human dignity of all and his announcement that humanitarian aid will be allowed into Gaza from Egypt. Civilians in Gaza cannot wait any longer and this plan must be implemented immediately.”

Sandesh Gonsalves, who leads the Jesuit Refugee Service team in Afghanistan, reports that Afghans are struggling in the wake of a “massive” earthquake that struck on Oct. 7. According to U.N. sources, the humanitarian aid system in Afghanistan is already desperately overstretched and underfunded, with over 29 million Afghans in need of assistance.

While outright war conditions pertain in Gaza and along its border in southern Israel, in the north, in Jerusalem and the West Bank, conditions are also fraught. Violence between Palestinians and Israeli settlers has broken out sporadically.

A Reflection for Friday of the Twenty-sixth Week in Ordinary Time, by Kevin Clarke

Many fear the endgame in the region will mean widespread loss of life and ethnic cleansing of the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh unless global attention can be redirected to the crisis.