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Today’s news of a terrorist plot to down up to ten airliners traveling to the United States is very troubling. How can we stop such events from occurring? Conventional wisdom and especially conventional political wisdom seems to favor the fostering of xenophobic reactions. With the war in Iraq going badly, the carnage of Israel and Lebanon on all the major cable outlets one could begin to question the success of war in general, but now with this renewed threat it will be easy to lead us back to a warlike footing.

Reading many recent articles and listening with the ear of my heart to that still small voice within I realize that it is only through trust in our creator can we survive such events. Reliance on weapons systems and other human intelligence systems is flawed and will only bring further terror and bewilderment. St. Francis was an enlightened warrior who experienced first hand the failure of war and weapons systems to provide security. His time as a prisoner of war was the seedbed from which his later spiritual regeneration was born. I’m an idealist and a follower of the Gospel and within me burns the realization that only through the application of Gospel principles shall we ever know peace as individuals and as nations. The lion will not lay down with the lamb because one or the other has a more powerful weapons system. The shalom of the Prince of Peace can only come when we love one another as he has loved us. We must embrace our enemies and we must embrace their hatred. Only when we embrace them will we succeed in pacifying them and us.

To many the way of spirituality and the way of Jesus appears the way of weakness and defeat, but the triumphs of Gandhi and Martin Luther King give ample testimony that the way of non-violence is the only way to succeed. Only when we receive our enemy and love him/her will we succeed in pacifying them. Beware of the wolves in sheep’s clothing who honor Christ with the their lips. Their deeds don’t match their words. I was thinking again today of Romans 12 and of my own experience with conflict and combat. The non-violent warrior will be hurt as all fighting does hurt, but if we follow the wisdom of Romans 12:19-21 we will come to love our enemy and our enemy will come to love us.

“Beloved, do not look for revenge but leave room for the wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”Rather, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals upon his head. Do not be conquered by evil but conquer evil with good.”

Pax et Bonum

Technorati Tags:
peace, war, weapons, terror, st.francis, gandhi, king

“Eyes see only light, ears hear only sound, but a listening heart perceives meaning.”
–David Steindl-Rast

Today’s news seemed to be filled with justification for the continuing war on terror. Pundits like Bill O’Reilly were even calling for a limited draft. There’s humor in that Bill himself dodged the draft during Vietnam, but I’m digressing from the more important point of the false promise of war. Fighting for peace is readily accepted in the USA if not the world, but the sobering pictures emerging from Iraq, Lebanon and Israel provide quiet testimony to the overall ineffectiveness of violence to beget anything more than violence.

“The myth of redemptive violence, writes (Walter) Wink in The Powers That Be: Theology for a New Millennium, “speaks for God; it does not listen for God to speak. It invokes the sovereignty of God as its own; it does not entertain the prophetic possibility of radical judgment by God. It misappropriates the language, symbols and scriptures of Christianity. It does not seek God in order to change; it embraces God in order to prevent change. Its God is not the impartial ruler of all nations but a tribal god worshiped as an idol. Its metaphor is not the journey but the fortress; its symbol is not the cross but the crosshairs of a gun. Its offer is not forgiveness but victory. … It is blasphemous. It is idolatrous.

“And it is immensely popular.”

It is difficult to be the shining city on the hill when so much of our effort and treasury and youth is mired in blood-soaked sand.

Read the entire article at the National Catholic Reporter today.

I’m indebted to my friend Br. Joe Kotula, OFM for sending me this link.

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redemptive violence, walter wink

I’m a regular reader of the Dilbert Blog. It’s more fun than reading the news and it’s probably nearly as accurate. There is no pretense that Scott Adams is anything more or less than a cartoon editor and publisher unlike the producers of CNN, Fox and the major network outlets. It’s author has an entertaining post today and I thought it was worth sharing. Scott Adams once authored a book entitled, “The Dilbert Principle.” The central thesis of the Dilbert Principle was that “ambiguity succeeds where honesty dares not tread.” That principle seems to be a governing principle of the Bush administration. Here’s Dilbert’s solution to retributive foreign policy. This might be entitled a post preemptive approach to foreign policy.

Read more here…

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humor, satire, dilbert

I came across a really thoughtful piece written by an author I’d never read before and I think it is worth sharing.

Certainly from the beginning, strangers could be dangerous. They could be part of a raiding party, or loners thrown out of their own tribes for breaking some critical taboo. We probably have in our genes a long-held and deep-seated wariness about The Other.

But over time this has been countered by another human trait, consciousness, and the obvious insight that we are all in this world together. For all our cultural and linguistic differences and personal quirks, people on this planet are pretty much alike. We’re all breathing the same air, living under the same sky, and loving our families in the same way. We even share a lot of the same DNA.

The principle “Do unto others as you would have others do unto you” has turned out to be not only wise and generous, but self-protective as well.

Read More…

Thank you to Paula at More Light for this posting. Nagasaki and Hiroshima continue to be blights on the American consciousness. We as a nation are still in denial of the consequences of our own anger. My own mother, a cradle Catholic, continues to believe that Nagasaki and Hiroshima were justified.

What is written here in these accounts challenges that position. May God have mercy on all of us and lead us not into another atomic war.

More Light: 9th of August

Remember back in 2003 when the Dixie Chicks dissed the president? I do. I hadn’t paid any attention to those ladies up until then. I had to admire these young ladies who stood up for what they believed in. It cost them to take a stand, but you gotta admire folks who put their money where their mouth is. Well, recently they played to a packed house at Madison Square Garden and according to Rolling Stone they brought down the house. Life has a way of coming full circle. Sometimes it takes a long time and other times it doesn’t. Looks like Mr. Bush is down and their star is rising. It’s payback time and it is sweet for these lovely ladies.

The Dixie Chicks dedicated a song to Mel Gibson. I’ve thought for a few years that Mel had emotional problems. Most of his movies are filled with violence. I remember a couple of years ago when he was on top with “Passion of the Christ.” I went to that movie and I thought the violence was way overdone and since then I’ve read others who thought the same. Here’s the song the ladies dedicated to Mel.

White Trash Wedding

You can’t afford no ring
You can’t afford no ring
I shouldn’t be wearing white and you can’t afford no ring

You finally took my hand
You finally took my hand
It took a nip of gin
But you finally
took my hand
You can’t afford no ring
You can’t afford no ring
I shouldn’t be wearing white and you can’t afford no ring

Mama don’t approve
Mama don’t approve
Daddy says he’s the best in town
And mama don’t approve
You can’t afford no ring
You can’t afford no ring
I shouldn’t be wearing white and you can’t afford no ring

Baby’s on its way
Baby’s on its way
Say I do and kiss me quick
‘Cause baby’s on its way

I shouldn’t be wearing white and you can’t afford no ring

Peace.

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dixie chicks, concert

When I was at Auriesville on Saturday I stood in front of a large memorial to the pro-life movement. It had the seal of a diocese I think and many endorsements from local Knights of Columbus chapters. As I looked across that beautiful Mohawk River valley I thought, “What is life?” What is pro-life? Is pro-life care for the unborn, but pro-war and pro-capital punishment for the born? Sr. Joan Chittister, OSB has a very good column in this week’s National Catholic Reporter. I liked it and hope you will too.

“But, though we have talked about the American Dream in every election for years, society simply goes on deteriorating — here as well as everywhere else. The poor get poorer. The middle class has stalled. Patriotism has become militarism. Economic success has become corporate greed. And, most troubling of all, morality has become particularized — which means that some of the Ten Commandments are being taken seriously, but some are not. Some morality is being politicized; most is not.

Evolution and cloning and same-sex marriage and abortion have become legislative hallmarks of U.S. morality. Torture and preemptive war, lack of universal health insurance, disregard for the care of the elderly and the welfare fraud of the wealthy (called tax breaks) are called “social issues,” not moral problems. Yet all of those things have to do with the quality of life, the dignity of life and the sacredness of life. Obviously, the “dream” is getting muddled.” Read more here.

Peace.

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pro-life, catholic, morality

I’ve been visting Auriesville Shrine since I was a young boy. My Mom brought me here first. Four of my cousins were Jesuit priests. They were missionaries in South America. I never met them. Their father was the obstetrician who helped to bring me into the world. My Mom came from a decidedly more Jesuit background. Among her many accomplishments is a Masters in Mathematics from Fordham University so it makes sense that being the good Catholic that she is, I’d get to Auriesville. I like visiting here if only to remember our first visits and the role my mother played in my faith journey. Auriesville is mystical. I can sense the presence of John LaLand, Rene Goupil and Isaac Jogues. One cannot visit here without being haunted by their presence. This peaceful ground was one a living hell for those dedicated Jesuit priests who tried to bring the Gospel to the Mohawks. I have to wonder how much 17th century French and British politics had in poisoning their relationship with the Mohawks.

Part of Auriesville today is a huge circular church with many altars and God only knows how many seats. I spent some time here praying for our principal, Ange Melaro, who is battling cancer. I left a card for him and some other intentions in front of a statue of Our Lady of Fatima. I took a picture of a statue of Jacque LaLand standing just in front of the crucified Jesus. I recommend a visit here if you ever find yourself in the Mohawk Valley near Fonda, Fultonville, Johnstown or even nearby Albany.

Peace.

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jesuit, martryrs, auriesville

I’m attracted to mystics no matter what their tradition. Handsome Lake was an Iroquois prophet who lived in late 18th and early 19th century. In 1799, Handsome Lake had the first in a series of visions while lying in his bed deathly ill. A messenger from the Creator appeared to him, giving him instructions for the Iroquois.
Yesterday, while visiting the Kateri Shrine near Fonda, New York I came across a lovely quote from Handsome Lake. It is part of the Peace Grove at the Kateri Shrine. It is hard to believe that in our own ethnocentrism we used our own weapons of mass destruction, i.e. muskets, smallpox and greater numbers to remove the likes of Handsome Lake from our midst. I owe the Conventual Franciscans of Immaculate Conception Province a debt of gratitude for maintaining this lovely shrine on the banks of the Mohawk River and near the birthplace of Blessed Kateri Tekawitha, “the Lily of the Mohawks.”

“Speak evil of no one. If you can say no good of a person, then be silent. Let not your tongues betray you into evil. For these are the words of our creator. Let all strive to cultivate friendship with those who surround them.”–Handsome Lake

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native american, spirituality, handsome lake, kateri shrine, conventual franciscan