When
peaceful stillness compassed everything and the night in its swift course was
half spent, Your all-powerful word, from heaven’s royal throne bounded, a
fierce warrior, into the doomed land, bearing the sharp sword of your
inexorable decree. And as he alighted, he filled every place with death; he
still reached to heaven, while he stood upon the earth.
Wisdom 18:14-16
The
Lord said, “Pay attention to what the dishonest judge says. Will not God
then secure the rights of his chosen ones who call out to him day and night? Will
he be slow to answer them? I tell you, he will see to it that justice is
done for them speedily. Luke 18:6-8A
Piety
Paris Cardinal André Vingt-Trois called
for unity among those in the city in a statement Friday, and said he is asking
Catholic parishes to observe days of mourning and prayer on Saturday and
Sunday.
“Faced with the violence of men, may we
receive the grace of a firm heart, without hatred,” Vingt-Troisasked. “May
the moderation, temperance and control that has been shown so far, be confirmed
in the weeks and months to come; let no one indulge in panic or hatred.”
“We ask that grace be the artisan of peace,”
he asked. “We need never despair of peace if we build on justice.”
Study
We contemplate the role and actions of the
Lord as both the destroyer filling every place with death. We recall the death on the cross, the death of
the Passover, the death of the Egyptian army chasing Moses through the Red Sea
and the death of Holy Innocents. Stretched
between heaven and earth sits the Lord both as judge and source of life.
Despite the images of death, the Word of God brings
us Good News. “For all creation, in its
several kinds, was being made over anew, serving its natural laws, that your
children might be preserved unharmed.” God
the destroyer battles mightily with God the deliverer of new life.
What emerges is the gracious God granting the
prayers we send forth granting us justice speedily, not reluctantly like the
dishonest judge. His grace will lead us home.
Action
“But when the Son of Man comes, will
he find faith on earth?”
In the light of the French attacks, I do
wonder what the Son of Man will find.
Despite the promise of grace, justice and answers to our prayers, will the
Son of Man find people asking solely for revenge as President Hollande said, ““To
all those who have seen these awful things, I want to say we are going to lead
a war which will be pitiless.” However,
a different sentiment emerges from the Vatican and Pope Francis who joined
leaders around the world in condemning Friday night’s horrific terrorist
attacks in Paris, saying they left him “shaken and pained” and are inhuman and
unjustifiable.
Vatican spokesman
Jesuit Fr. Federico Lombardi also separately called on people to resist
allowing the terrorists to make them frightened or fearful but to instead seek
the “message of mercy, that love of God which leads to mutual love and
reconciliation.”[i]
Please pray for the people of France and
everyone who is a victim of senseless attacks that fill every place –restaurant,
stadium, concert halls and streets – with death. May the attacks end and the love of God prevail.
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