Sun/Son Rise on the Good and the Bad March 11

Prayer

Help us and heal us, O God.

Jesus, Help us to give of our selves so we can be open to you.
Heal us from the divisions that divide us and drive us apart from each other.
Help us to break through the barriers of that obscure our vision.
Heal us to see our enemies as children of God.
Help us to enlighten the leaders of all nations
Heal us to make the choices that lead to peace.
Amen.

Study

http://www.usccb.org/nab/031106.shtml

“But I say to you, love your enemies,and pray for those who persecute you,that you may be children of your heavenly Father,for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good,and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust.”

With tears for his family and friends and joy for his fidelity, remember Tom Fox today as he alights perfectly on the Cloud of Witnesses with Dorothy Day, Martin Luther King, Thomas Merton and the communion of saints.

The essence of real Christian prayer always consists in “going out of oneself in order to meet the Other,” reminds us in today’s reading in the People’s Breviary from Following Jesus by Segundo Galilea. “True prayer is a supreme act of abnegation and forgetfulness of self in order to meet Christ and his demands in others.” Mr. Fox was held captive in his quest for peace for the last 104 days of his life from November 26 until March 10 when his body was found shot in a Baghdad suburb. In this sense, prayer is related to the classic themes of death, and the cross – “Death to self in order to live for God.” Perhaps none of us think we are called to the depth of Mr. Fox’s commitment to peace in the most dangerous corner of the world. But can any of us not think that we have to leave our self behind in order to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us?

Action:

While you pray for Tom Fox and his family and all those who remain in harms way, especially those unfairly held hostage due to this conflict, share with your political leaders the statement recently made by Bishop Thomas Wenski of Orlando for the U.S. Bishops on the war in Iraq, the need for a peaceful transition and how the continued conflict challenges us all to dialogue and action.

http://www.usccb.org/sdwp/international/iraqstatement0106.htm