Make me an Instrument of Your Peace

                I've spent a lot of time over the last few days

reading news articles and commentary about the situation in Syria because I haven’t been able to formulate an opinion on what we should do.  I may be a lot of things, but I am rarely shy of opinions, so this is pretty uncharacteristic of me.  On the one hand, I find the deployment of chemical weapons against innocent people to be a barbaric act that deserves our condemnation and punishment.  On the other hand, any military action against the government will necessarily benefit the rebels, who don’t seem like the type of people we want to support.  And in the end, dropping bombs will mean that even more innocent people will die.  How do we make sure that chemical weapons are never used again without doing more damage than good?  I didn't have any good answers, so I decided I needed more information.  And boy, there’s a lot of contradictory information and opinions out there.

                So after all of this reading, what do I think?  What should we do?  Well, I think we should start from the proposition that military action should always be the last resort.  And let’s face it, the international community has done NOTHING so far to help resolve the situation in Syria.  Sure, there has been plenty of outrage and condemnation spewing forth from the safety of presidential palaces and national legislatures around the world, but no one has done anything meaningful yet to help end the conflict.  The world has sat back and allowed the situation to escalate into the crisis it has become.  Moral outrage is meaningless if we’re not willing to do something about the object of our outrage.  And there’s a lot that can and should be done before bombing is even considered.  If the world community (the United States, Russia, China, the EU and the Arab League in particular) would get on the same page, the Syrian Government and the rebels would be brought to the negotiating table, would implement a ceasefire and would work toward a peaceful resolution.  And while that’s going on, the churches, the Red Cross, the Red Crescent and other humanitarian assistance groups could get in there to tend to the injured, repatriate the refugees and bring food, clothing and medical supplies to the needy. 

Of course, it’s easy for me to pontificate on the Syrian situation at the foot of a keyboard.  So I have to ask myself, we all have to ask ourselves, what will I do to help the people of Syria?  We, as individuals and as communities, have a moral obligation to help the Syrian people.  What can we do?

 

+ We can speak up to let our governments know that we want all peaceful means to resolve this tragedy exhausted before military options are considered;

+ We can support the works of our churches and humanitarian organizations to get aid to the injured, the starving and the homeless in Syria;

+ We can pray.

Yes, I said pray.  Prayer, like the art of diplomacy it seems, has fallen out of favor as a means of solving our problems.  But I believe in the power of prayer – I have seen it work countless times, always for the good.  Through prayer we understand that we don’t have all of the answers and that we need God to guide us to a solution.  Prayer breaks down barriers, it unites us with our God and with one another.  Prayer calms emotions, softens egos and quiets our hearts and our minds so that we can listen for the inspiration that always accompanies prayer.  Prayer makes us instruments of God’s peace.

Pope Francis has called for people throughout the world to pray for peace in Syria today, probably the most constructive suggestion I've seen in all of my readings.  So I offer the prayer of Saint Francis for all of those suffering from this senseless tragedy, for world leaders to find the inspiration to end this war and, most of all, for peace:

Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace.

Where there is hatred, let me sow love;

Where there is injury, pardon;

Where there is doubt, faith;

Where there is despair, hope;

Where there is darkness, light;

Where there is sadness, joy.

O, Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;

To be understood as to understand;

To be loved as to love;

For it is in giving that we receive;

It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;

                                   And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.