RBWords

 

     One of my regular pastoral practices in the Sacrament of Reconciliation is to listen for conflict!  If someone comes in and simply confesses to "categories" of behavior such as, "I lied.  I stole. I judged," and say nothing else, I may ask, "Who did you lie to, or stole from, or judged?"  Sin always has a face!  Somebody gets hurt!  When the penitent identifies the person, then I ask the penitent to pray for that individual.  This is one way to put Jesus' words into action!  Praying for one's "enemies" is one way to start repairs on the bridge of love!

 

     That bridge is in serious need of repair if what we see on the news media is any indication.  In Africa, "Christian" and "Moslem" militias are killing one another and innocent non-combatants.  In Syria and other parts of the Middle East, Sunni and Shiite Moslems are killing one another and, again, innocent non-combatants.  In Mexico, rival drug cartels routinely kill one another.  On a more mundane level, the nastiness of political life in this country is hardly a witness to the love of neighbor preached by Jesus!  Violence seems to be the order of the day!  The definition of peace seems to be the destruction of one's enemy rather than love of them!

 

     If those problems seem too large for us, we can at least pray about them.  However, on the local level we can do much more.  We can begin with our own conflicts and start repairing our own relationships.  We can learn to forgive and to love our "enemy."  We cannot "edit out" this teaching of Jesus or ignore it as "impractical!"  Jesus challenges us to "neighbor-hood" and to build the bridges of love that make an end to violence!  AMEN