We need peace. But we have to work for it.

Prayer for Divine Mercy Sunday

O Father, we humbly come before You, yearning for Your boundless compassion to envelop our hearts.
May Your love heal our wounds and guide us in kindness towards others.
Help us to reflect Your mercy in our actions, and grant us the strength to extend grace even in our trials.
Fill us with Your spirit of compassion, that we may be vessels of Your love.
Amen.

I watched the vigil for peace yesterday, and Pope Leo XIV had a wonderful "reflection" he offered. He quoted several former popes' words regarding peace; those who think that the Pope is too "woke" would be surprised to realize that the missions of mercy, compassion, and social justice have always been the cornerstone of the Church. Now, I understand that historically, the actions of the Church and her hierarchy have not upheld the missions-- sometime the church's actions have been tragically flawed. But isn't that because the church is made up of human beings? We are not perfect. 

I like to tell people I'm a practicing Catholic; practicing, because I am not "there" yet. 

But I try. And that's what the pope was talking about; those who willfully hurt people are outside looking in-- if they ever even look. To claim to follow Christ and his teachings and then make it the day's work to kill people, to hurt them, to disparage them and hunt them down is purely evil. The Catholic church does not have the corner on what is "right." No other sect of Christianity can claim it, either. Nor can Judaism, Islamism, or any other --ism. We are a fractured humanity. We all, as St Paul said, "know in part" and  it'll only be "when completeness comes, what is in part disappears" (1 Corinthians 13:9).

Every faith-filled person, every faith tradition, seeks to "know"-- and if we take a few minutes to just sit quietly, we might just come a lot closer to understanding. We share this planet. We have been given the gift and task of stewardship (Genesis). We are, as a human community, doing a pretty poor job of it. We must pray, we must act, and we must keep trying. 

Have a good day, and hold your loved ones close.

C