Love’s True Form: Homily for the 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, November 10, 2013

By day one way,

By night another.

This shall be the norm,

Until you find true love’s first kiss,

And then take love’s true form.

          Under this spell, Princess Fiona from Shrek The Musical, passed her days as a beautiful princess and her nights as an ugly ogre, locked in a tower, waiting for her one true love to rescue her.  Fiona knew exactly how she’d be saved – she believed the storybooks she’d read by candlelight:  A princess is rescued by a handsome, brave knight, he slays the dragon, he takes her hand on bended knee, bended knee, BENDED KNEE, and then they share true love’s first kiss.”  Well, the story doesn't quite play out the way Fiona expects it to, and her strict adherence to the Fairytale happy ending she’d read about so many times nearly makes her miss her one true love.  It sounds like Princess Fiona has been spending too much time with the Sadducees from today’s Gospel reading.

          In today’s Gospel, Jesus is challenged by a group of Sadducees about the resurrection.  The Sadducees of Jesus’ time were a conservative religious group who only believed in the authority of the Torah.  In other words, they only believed what they read in books, like Princess Fiona.  So they refused to believe in the resurrection of the dead because they couldn't find it in the Hebrew Scriptures.  “They were so caught up in their rendition of reality that they could not conceive the possibility of something else.”[1]  But Jesus proves them wrong, explaining that “rising to life . . . is about the children of God believing in the living God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  In this God who created us, we are all alive.”[2]

 

          So what is resurrection?  Well, I think the Catechism of the Catholic Church puts it rather nicely:  The resurrection of the dead is “the raising of the righteous, who will live forever with the risen Christ.”[3]  This means that resurrection is not resuscitation; resurrection is not reincarnation.  Resurrection is a whole new way of living.  “The resurrected life goes beyond the dimensions of earthly existence.”[4]  Now that sounds pretty cool, but what’s this new life like?  Some of us may have pretty creative ideas about what our resurrected lives will look like:  heavenly choirs; naked angel babies floating around on fluffy, white clouds playing harps.  And for me, a chocolate fountain on every corner.  But our Gospel tells us that resurrection is so much more than that – so much more than we can even imagine.  “When we resurrect into our new life, our relationship with God will be transformed.  We will love God passionately.  We will experience his unconditional love enthusiastically.  We will love and admire his entire creation unreservedly.  Our joy will be overflowing, and nothing will be able to take our joy away.”[5]  In other words, in the resurrection, we will find true love, and we will take love’s true form.

 

          This is what we believe as Christians.  And for our Confirmation candidates who are making their commitment this morning, this is what you’re signing up for.  This is what we've all signed up for.  So please remember that like so many of God’s gifts, resurrection isn't just relegated to eternity.  Resurrection should be experienced here and now.[6]  Don’t be like the Sadducees or Princess Fiona.  Don’t get so caught up in your own version of reality that you miss out on true love.  Believe in the resurrection, and take love’s true form.

Believing in the resurrection is life-changing; it’s empowering.  It transforms us.  “Resurrection makes it possible to live in hope and trust in the future.”[7]  We experience so many hardships in this life – sickness, death, broken relationships, and apparently for ogres, extreme body odor, flatulence and flaming heinies.  But believing in the resurrection brings with it the sure knowledge that we’re loved by God and carried by God through it all.  Believing in the resurrection lets us see that we live in “a big, bright, beautiful world with possibilities everywhere.”  Believing in the resurrection assures us of a perfect, happy ending.

    

          Princess Fiona gets her happy ending.  If you want to know how, you’ll have to come see the production of Shrek The Musical at 2:00 pm this afternoon in the Immaculate Conception School Multipurpose Room.  I will tell you, though, Fiona’s happy ending didn't turn out the way she expected it to.  But she does find her one true love, and she takes loves true form.  And if you’re a believer in the resurrection, like “I’m a believer,” we will too.

Readings:  2 Maccabees 7: 1-2, 9-14; 2 Thessalonians 2:16-35; Luke 20: 27-38

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[1] John Shea, The Spiritual Wisdom of the Gospels for Christian Preachers and Teachers, Luke, Year C (Collegeville, Liturgical Press, 2006) at 311.

[2] Mary A. Ehle and Margaret Nutting Ralph, Workbook for Lectors, Gospel Readers, and Proclaimers of the Word: 2013 Year C (Chicago, Liturgy Training Publications, 2012) at 288.

[3] Catechism of the Catholic Church, Glossary.

[4] Michael F. Patella, “The Gospel According to Luke,” New Collegeville Bible Commentary, Daniel Durkin, ed. (Collegeville, Liturgical Press, 2009) at 293.

[5] Keith E. Grabner, C.S.C., Living Faith (June 3, 2009).

[6] Patricia Datchuk Sánchez, “Experiencing Resurrection,” National Catholic Reporter, vol. 50, no. 1 (October 25-November 7, 2013) at 28.

[7] Id.

Who is God? Part III

                Now that I've given you sufficient time to absorb the second installment of my presentation on God (follow these links for Part I and Part II), I thought I’d close out this trilogy on God with an explanation of the implications of believing in God.

                Believing in God, as I've described God in the previous postings, is an exercise in humility.  If we accept that God created all things, then we believe “that all realities exist in and through God.”[1]  Said another way, nothing exists apart from God.  That means that everything we have and everything we need comes from God.  We’re completely dependent on God for our existence and for our survival.   “Without the Creator, the creature vanishes.”[2]  This reality may be tough to swallow for the proud, independent, self-sufficient bunch that we are these days.  It’s downright humbling.  But it’s not denigrating in any way because of one simple word that is synonymous with God – love.

                It’s true that God needs nothing from us; God would be complete and completely happy with or without us.  But God is love, and love is dynamic, not static.  Love has to move; it has to be shared.  And God’s perfect love is love in infinite abundance.  So God creates as an act of love, as an opportunity to love in infinite abundance.  God loves mice and mosquitoes.  God loves dogs and dinosaurs.  God even loves broccoli and Brussels sprouts.  But most importantly, God loves us.  God loves us so much that he created us in his image and likeness.  (Genesis 1: 26-27)  God loves us so much that he gave his only son that we may have eternal life.  (John 3:16)  Feel better?  You should, because there’s nothing more we could ask for than to be infinitely and eternally loved.

                Believing in God comes with responsibilities too.  Our total dependence on a God who loves us obliges us to love God in return.  It's the least we can do!  Loving God means thanking God for his many gifts and taking the time to worship him.  Loving God means making good use of creation, respecting our universe and showing proper stewardship over the animals, plants and the environment entrusted to our care.  Loving God especially means that we must love each other.  All people share a unity and dignity because we are made in the image of God.  From paupers to princes, our human dignity is bestowed on us by God, and it can never be taken away or diminished by anyone.  We must treat each other accordingly.  Loving God also means trusting God in every circumstance:  trusting that God keeps his promises; trusting that, through all of the pain and suffering that this life may bring, we will live in peace and happiness with God forever; and trusting that God’s love never fails.  (1 Corinthians 13: 8)

     

                That’s the price we pay for believing in God, but the rewards are out of this world:  "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him."  (1 Corinthians 2:9)

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[1] Fr. Robert Barron, Thomas Aquinas, Spiritual Master (New York, Crossroads Publishing Company, 2008) at 80-81.

[2] Catechism of the Catholic Church 49.

Who is God? Part II

                There’s nothing like a clear autumn day to get you thinking about God.  So, with a hammock beneath me, a clear, blue sky above me, and the rustle of a gentle breeze through fallen leaves in my ears, I began to quietly contemplate how I would continue to summarize the talk I gave 2 weeks ago on God.  You can find my first attempt (dealing with the existence of God) here if you missed it.  In this installment, I’ll talk about the nature of God.

                Jews, Christians and Muslims (and probably many other religions) believe in one God.  Speaking through the prophet Isaiah, God reveals that “I am God; there is no other.”  Catholics profess our faith in one God in the Nicene Creed:  “I believe in one God, the Father almighty,” and many Christian faiths make similar professions.  The existence of one God makes sense if you believe that the word “god” refers to a transcendent being that is the source and summit of all things.  With that belief, you can’t have competing gods – a god of the sun, a god of the sea, etc.  Having one god for this and one god for that necessarily means that no one god is the source and summit of all.  Each god would necessarily be incomplete and, therefore, imperfect.

 We also believe that God is one in nature, substance and essence.[1]  The great Jewish prayer says, “Hear O Israel, the Lord is God, the Lord is one.”  (Deut.6:4)  God, therefore, is unitary; God is unique.  As the second century Christian author Tertullian said, “If God is not one, He is not God.”  Why is that?  Well, God is by nature perfectly simple – the source and summit of all things can’t be made up of competing parts.  God cannot contradict himself.  If he did, he wouldn't be perfect.  So when we speak of God’s justice, God’s love, God’s wrath or God’s mercy, we’re speaking about the same thing – in God.  In God, these qualities can’t contradict each other.  So for those who struggle with how God can forgive people who commit horrible crimes, remember that God’s justice, God’s mercy, God’s love and any other quality of God that you can think of are one and the same thing in God.

God’s simplicity also helps us understand that God is the fullness of being.  “What God’s simplicity entails, in a word, is that the divine is not any sort of being, any particular instance of being, but is rather the sheer act of existing itself.  God is not this or that; God simply is.”[2]  God told us as much when he revealed his name to Moses:  In the Book of Exodus, after God asks Moses to deliver his people from slavery in Egypt, Moses asks God for his name so Moses can tell the Israelites who sent him to them.  God responded with the word “YHWH,” which means, “I am who am,” or “I will be who will be.”  (Exodus 3: 13-15)  The divine name, therefore, expresses God’s fundamental nature as BEING, past, present, future, eternal.  God is “the fullness of Being and every perfection, without origin and without end.”[3]

Now we have to ask ourselves what it means for God to be eternal – without origin and without end.  Well, eternity is the ever present now.  There is no time in eternity.  That means there is no past and no future.  It’s just now.  Because God is being itself, God is equally present to the past, the present and the future.  In other words, the past, the present and the future are one in God.  And because God is timeless, i.e., eternal, God cannot change.  Change involves going from one state to another.  Change, therefore, necessarily involves time.  But God is timeless.  And for that matter, what would God change into?  God is perfect.  The only place you can go to from perfect is imperfect.  As I mentioned above, if God were imperfect, he wouldn’t be God.  God’s immutability is why he is always faithful:  “The gifts and the call of God are irrevocable.”  (Romans 11:29)  God cannot contradict himself; God cannot change.

          Your head maybe spinning as mine is trying to contemplate the nature of God.  Well, that’s because God is beyond our comprehension.  As Saint Anselm of Canterbury put it, God is that which nothing greater can be thought.”  I’m told that there are some 600 names for God in the Bible:  the Almighty, Creator, Savior, Father, Abba, to name a few.  Yet, no one name can capture God.  And while all creatures bear a resemblance to God, no one creature, nor all creatures taken together for that matter, could ever come close to revealing all that is God.  “Whatever you can say or think or assert concerning God falls infinitely short of who God actually is.  Indeed, the best and finally the only response to the divine power is silence, the silence of awe and reverence and hope.”[4]  Lying in a hammock on a beautiful autumn day is perfect for doing just that.

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[1] Catechism of the Catholic Church 200.  The Christian belief in a Trinitarian God – one God in three persons – does not contradict a belief in one God.  The Trinity, however, will have to be the topic of a future posting.

[2] Fr. Robert Barron, Thomas Aquinas, Spiritual Master (New York, Crossroads Publishing Company, 2008) at 78.

[3] CCC 213.

[4] Barron at 61.

Who is God?

         

          Several people have asked me how my talk on God went the other day, and some asked that I post the talk on my blog.  I generally speak from notes (not a prepared text) when I give talks, so I didn't have anything to post.  As you can imagine, God is also a pretty big topic, so I thought I would start with this posting on the existence of God, and possibly continue in future postings. 

One of the many things that convinces me that God exists is the fact that every culture has developed a concept of God.  Of course, that doesn't mean that every person believes in God, but the fact that every culture, ancient and modern, has expressed some understanding of a divine being that transcends us speaks volumes to me.  This fact shouldn't be surprising if we accept that humans are both physical and spiritual beings.  Now, before I get a ton of comments from people who are “spiritual but not religious,” let me clarify that spirituality is different from religion.  When I speak of spirituality, I’m talking about our sense of connectedness with each other, with the world around us and with God.  Religion, on the other hand, is a group’s thoughts and teachings that interpret spiritual experiences.  We, therefore, can be spiritual but not religious (though I don’t recommend it).  As spiritual beings, we are drawn to the transcendent – that which is beyond us.  As the Catholic Church teaches, the desire for God is written on our hearts, and God never ceases drawing us to him.[1]  That’s why every culture has developed a concept of God.

So how can we know that God exists?  Well, Saint Thomas Aquinas, in his Summa Theologica, developed 5 proofs for the existence of God that are pretty convincing to me.  While the 5 proofs are well worth the read, I’d like to share some simple explanations that touch in certain ways on Thomas’ proofs.  First, for the believer and non-believer alike, the desire for God is expressed in our ongoing quest for truth, beauty, love and perfection.  Where did our understanding and desire for truth, beauty, love and perfection come from?  Against what standard do we base our judgment of what is true or beautiful?  How do we know we are in love?  We have never seen perfection, so why do we strive for it?  Well, God is truth, beauty, love and perfection.  And although God transcends us, God also envelops us and dwells within us.  As one person put it, helping someone find God is like helping a fish find water.  So we understand and seek truth, beauty, love and perfection because we are spiritually connected to and permeated by the source of all truth, beauty, love and perfection – God.

 

Second, all people have a conscience – a sense of right and wrong.  Some people exercise it more than others, but we all have it nonetheless.  We've all had that nagging feeling of the right (or wrong) course of action to take in a particular circumstance.  We've all felt guilty when we've done something wrong, and we've all experienced a sense of conviction and purpose when we do something good.  Where does our understanding of right and wrong, good and evil, come from?  To some extent, one could argue that it comes from our parents, from the society we live in or even from what we learned in kindergarten.  But what is the ultimate origin of society's understanding of right and wrong?  And why do we still feel guilty for bad acts even when no one is looking – when there is no chance that we’ll be caught?  It’s because “the good” also transcends us.  It envelops us and permeates our very beings.  That inner voice we hear guiding us to do good ain't Jiminy Cricket; it’s God.  “For man has in his heart a law inscribed by God.  His conscience is man’s most secret core and his sanctuary.  There he is alone with God whose voice echoes in his depths.”[2]

          The last argument I’ll put forth for the existence of God is that I simply cannot believe that the universe is an accident.  We know that nothing comes from nothing; so there must be a first cause.  It doesn't matter whether it happened as described in the Book of Genesis, if it was a Big Bang or a “god particle.”  Something created the universe from nothing, and did a pretty amazing job of it.  There’s an incredible order and beauty to the cosmos that caused people as diverse as Plato and Einstein to believe in an intelligent designer of the universe.  That intelligent designer is God.  And nothing that science has ever discovered contradicts the notion that a transcendent, unchanging and all powerful being created the universe.  As Albert Einstein once said, “There are only two ways to live your life.  One is as though nothing is a miracle.  The other is as though everything is a miracle.”  For me, everything is a miracle, so I am convinced that God exists.

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[1] Catechism of the Catholic Church (“CCC”) 27.

[2] CCC 1776.

Takin’ it to the Streets

          There’s a lot of buzz about the interview of Pope Francis that was published earlier today by the Italian Jesuit journal La Civiltà Cattolica. You can find an English version of the full interview by following this link to America Magazine. In the interview, Pope Francis speaks openly, honestly, frankly and very personally about some of the hot-button issues facing the Church today. Notwithstanding what may be said in the mainstream media over the next few days, the Pope doesn't introduce any new Catholic teachings in the interview. Everything he says about Church teachings is already in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The interview is, nonetheless, extraordinary. It’s extraordinary because rather than speaking from the lofty heights of papal dignity, this Pope speaks to us as one human being to another. And by doing so, he’s bringing Christ’s Church to the people it’s meant to serve. He’s taking it to the streets.

          We meet a very human Pope in this interview, a Pope who defines himself first with the words, “I am a sinner.” The Pope a sinner? Heaven forfend! But with those four words Francis becomes a Pope we can relate to - one who seems to understand that life is tough and we’re not always able to make the best choices. By speaking openly about mistakes he’s made, Francis reveals himself as a flawed human being, just like the rest of us. In Francis, the Pope is no longer an institution; he’s a human being.

          We've seen Pope Francis’ human touch before. From his first words from the loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica, Pope Francis has encouraged us to feed the hungry, visit the imprisoned, welcome the immigrant, console the mourning and pray for peace for all mankind. And just this morning, he implored his bishops to be close to their flocks, to “smell like their sheep” and not to allow the trappings of their office to distance them from the real problems people face. If his papacy to date could be summed up in two words, they would be “human dignity.” In Pope Francis’ words, “We must always consider the person.” Pope Francis has set the barque of Saint Peter on its proper course: the preservation, protection and defense of human dignity. But more importantly, he directs the Church toward the one Morning Star who never sets – Jesus Christ – our God who became man so he could live the human experience with us.

          For the Church to promote human dignity, it has to live in the modern world; it has to meet people where they are. This is what Pope John XXIII set out to do through the Second Vatican Council – to update the Church, to define its role in the modern world and to preach the Gospel in a way that’s relevant to the circumstances we face today. Many question when the Council will be fully implemented. Pope Francis’ message seems to be that the time is now. It’s time to “make waves.” It’s time to be a Church that “is home to all.” It’s time to “heal the wounds.” It’s time to “accompany [people] with mercy.” It’s time to take the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the streets.

Let Go - Homily from September 11, 2011

          Desmond Tutu, the former Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town South Africa, was walking through a construction site on a sidewalk that was only wide enough for one person to pass. A white man was approaching from the other direction, and when he met up with Archbishop Tutu he said, “I don’t step aside for gorillas.” Archbishop Tutu stepped aside; he made a sweeping gesture with his arm and said, “Well, it’s a good thing that I do.” Archbishop Tutu didn't get angry; he didn't hold a grudge. He simply let him go. And letting go is what forgiveness is all about.

          Today’s Gospel falls into the category of Bible passages that we almost know by heart. Peter thought he was being so generous when he suggested that we should forgive a sinner 7 times because in Biblical terms, that would be considered perfect forgiveness. Then, as usual, Jesus ups the ante. He tells Peter that seven times isn't enough. We must forgive 77 times. Jesus is introducing us to God’s definition of perfect forgiveness. God’s forgiveness is “beyond all calculation,”[1] and we Christians have no right to put limits on it.[2] In fact, Jesus calls us to imitate both the frequency and the depth of God’s mercy. That’s because we've already received, and we continue to receive God’s forgiveness of the unpayable debt of our sin through the sacrifice of his only Son. Christ suffered and died for everyone, saints and sinners alike. So as God’s Church we must witness to God’s infinite mercy by showing mercy to all, even those who hurt us.

          There’s a reason why God calls us to forgive: it’s for our own good. Our first reading puts it all in context: Can we “nourish anger against another and expect healing from the Lord?” (Sirach 28:3) In other words, how can we be open to God’s healing and forgiveness with our fists clenched in anger? Holding onto anger puts us in grave danger. It’s like the Monkey Trap. The Monkey Trap involves putting a piece of candy in a small hole carved in a heavy coconut. The monkey slips his hand in, grabs the candy, and then finds that he can’t pull his hand out of the small opening with a clenched fist. The monkey wants the candy so badly that he won’t let go. With the heavy coconut on his arm, he can’t run or climb. So he ends up suffering a much worse fate than if he had just let go. Holding onto anger drags us down; it stops us from living. Failure to forgive is to hold onto an injury and remain a victim. Buddha is credited with saying that “holding onto anger is like holding onto a hot coal waiting to throw it at the person who offended you. You’re the one who gets burned.”

          God wants us to let it go. Let go of the candy; drop the hot coal. Let it go. And that’s not always easy. Let’s face it, we don’t want to forgive people who don’t deserve it – people who haven’t even asked for our forgiveness. We’re afraid that we’ll look weak or that we’ll be hurt or taken advantage of again. But we have to appreciate that forgiveness is really an act of loving humility. “Loving humility is wonderfully strong, the strongest of all things, and there is nothing like it.”[3] Forgiveness is a balm that heals us; it opens us up to God’s healing grace so we don’t waste our lives waiting for an apology that may never come. Forgiveness makes us stronger and much happier. Forgiveness is a gift we give ourselves.

          Let’s talk for a minute about what forgiveness is not. Forgiveness is not indifference to sin. It does not obviate the need for justice. Forgiveness also is not forgetting. Forgiveness won’t displace memories of past hurts because we’re hard-wired to remember – it’s a defense mechanism.[4] And Christianity is all about remembering. But of course, there’s always a kicker with Christianity: Whenever we remember, we’re called to forgive again. That’s what the 77 times thing is all about.

          So now we have to address the 800 pound gorilla in the room. Today is September 11th – the tenth anniversary of the worst attack on American soil – the day that nearly three thousand innocent people lost their lives, and countless people lost their loved ones. I was working in Washington, DC on September 11, 2001. I saw the Pentagon explode before my eyes. My family and I were unharmed, and none of my friends or relatives was directly touched by the tragedy. So who am I to ask people who suffered so much at the hands of ruthless killers to forgive? How can I ask the family and friends of the innocent victims to let go of the throats of the men who killed their loved ones?

          I didn't want to preach about forgiveness on September 11th. But the Holy Spirit thought otherwise. You know the Church didn't pick today’s readings especially for the 9/11 Anniversary. Today’s readings are the assigned reading for Year A of the 24th Sunday in Ordinary time, whenever it may fall. These readings were designated for this day some 40 years ago. The Holy Spirit decided that we needed to hear these readings today, and that I had to preach about it.

          So I offer these few poor words that I can only hope will bring some comfort on this difficult day: First, I am so sorry for the loss and suffering that so many have endured; my prayers and the prayers of this whole community are with everyone touched by this tragedy and with the men and women who stepped up to do the Lord’s work in its aftermath. If any of you ever need to talk, I’m here to listen. Second, I hope you understand that forgiveness is a journey. God doesn't expect us to forgive instantaneously. Sometimes it takes a lifetime. God calls us to journey toward forgiveness, to pray about it and be open to it. If we do that, we've already begun to forgive. And lastly, God doesn't intend the call to forgiveness to be a burden; He calls us to forgive to ease the burden of our pain so that we can truly live again. God wants to take the burden away from us. That’s why God calls us to let go.

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[1] New Interpreter’s Bible, vol. VIII at 380.
[2] The Collegeville Bible Commentary: New Testament at 889.
[3] Dostoevsky, Fyodor, The Brothers Karamazov (Shelton, The Easton Press, 1979) at 244.
[4] Worthington, Jr., Everett L., Forgiving and Reconciling: Bridges to Wholeness and Hope (Downers Grove, InterVarsity Press, 2003) at 133.

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.