From the Menacing Sword Deliver Me
November 23, 2012
Memorial of Saint
Andrew Düng-Lac, priest and martyr, and his companions, martyrs
If anyone wants to
harm them, fire comes out of their mouths and devours their enemies. In this way, anyone wanting to harm them is
sure to be slain. They have the power to
close up the sky so that no rain can fall during the time of their
prophesying. They also have power to
turn water into blood and to afflict the earth with any plague as often as they
wish…But after the three and a half days, a breath of life from God entered
them. When they stood on their feet,
great fear fell on those who saw them.
Then they heard a loud voice from heaven say to them, "Come up
here." So they went up to heaven in
a cloud as their enemies looked on.
Revelation 11:5-6, 11-12
O God, a new song I
will sing to you; on a ten-stringed lyre I will play for you. You give victory to kings; you delivered
David your servant. From the menacing
sword deliver me. Psalm 144:9-10
"They can no
longer die, for they are like angels; and they are the children of God because
they are the ones who will rise. That
the dead will rise even Moses made known in the passage about the bush, when he
called 'Lord' the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob; and
he is not God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive." Luke 20:36-38
Piety
"Oh God grant that a cry will arise from the SIXTY WHITE
CROSSES IN CAMDEN planted near city hall by caring people, representing the
colossal onslaught of 2012. It is a cry
calling this nation to take note of and take action against this national
tragedy. Sunday the Masses in Sacred
Heart parish will call out (cry out) the names of the sixty murdered American
citizens since January 1."
From "The Cry of the White Crosses" by Rev. Michael Doyle,
November 2012
Study
It would be pure hubris if I hinted that I had a clue about what
these readings say, what they mean, and why they matter. Contemplating the end of time with a mere
mortal brain is impossible. In my heart,
I know that everything is possible with faith, but connecting these readings
together and then weaving them into an insight for our age is beyond me.
That is why the Holy Spirit let Fr. Michael Doyle take over today's
reflection. Sometimes all the internet
search engines, hyperlinked footnotes, and explanations from the New American
Bible don't go as far as an eloquent passage from Fr. Michael Doyle to take the
Good News from the seminary to the sanctuary and from the sanctuary to the streets.
Doyle is a priest at an oasis of love called Sacred Heart Parish in
Camden, NJ. His flock is surrounded by a
desert of death all around. The drug
trade brings with it bullets and knives and literally cut-throat competition
for the minds, bodies and wallets of Camden's young and old, best and
brightest.
While the nation has been focused on areas of New Jersey hit hard
by Hurricane Sandy, parts of New Jersey -- including Camden -- were spared that
wrath. However, they have faced the
revelation of a wave of violence not brought on by Mother Nature. Fr. Doyle explains:
Camden's
deadly storm this year is the raging torrent of violence that has killed many
people. The flood of blood is on the
city streets. As I write, the number of
murders since January 1, 2012 is sixty.
And there are five weeks until December 31. God help us all. There were thirteen murders in Camden this
July. In fact, our murder rate is the
worst in the United States and is eight times worse than the worst in
Europe. But no serious outcry arises. No mention from the suits and pretty faces
that read the news to the nation. The
dead in Camden are buried beneath a landfill of indifference. Yet we are all guilty in our silent
acceptance of deadly concentrated locations for our low-income people and their
children.
Action
On this day when the
church remembers the sacrifice of Saint Andrew Düng-Lac, priest and martyr, and
his companion martyrs, let us also remember the martyrs in Camden, killed in
the crossfire of the illegal drug and gun trade. May the sixty deaths (so far) of 2012 not be
in vain. They are the ones who will rise with the rest of us. But until then, from the menacing guns on the
streets, deliver peace.
Fr. Doyle's letter continues to inspire our action. At the same time they cope with the killing
fields, Fr. Doyle is in the midst of preparing 1,000 Christmas baskets that
will help to create happy homes in Camden for at least one day of the
year. Whether you can spare $5, $50 or
$500, please consider sending whatever you can in order to bring some peace to
the mean streets of Camden, New Jersey for at least one day this year. Fr. Doyle says it best:
But
no matter what, we will set out to create the happy circle of a family dinner
in more than a thousand homes on Christmas Day.
You will help us. You, God bless,
always help us. I have always thought of
Sacred Heart in Camden as a circle of caring people…a wide circle. You are in that circle and the poor people
who come for a Christmas basket are in that circle. God is in that circle because we are all in
it together trying to feed the minds of our endangered children in the classroom
and the bodies of our people at Christmas.
Even as we struggle with the readings and the call of the Good
News, there can be no question, that Camden needs our help. The servant of God Michael Doyle and his
humble parish provide one more channel of action -- to pursue the loving peace for
which we and they strive.
Rev. Michael Doyle
Sacred Heart Church
1739 Ferry Avenue
Camden, NJ 08104
856-966-6700
parish@SacredHeartCamden.org
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