Peace, Hope and Love

Three of the most sought after words in the English language--peace, hope and love.  Who could not but want these three words to be an expression of their life? I iam sure there are some, such as the five Islamic terrorists who recently killed 31 persons in Brussels.  Many prayers often contain these words, but of the prayers, one stand out in it combination of these basic life.  It is said to be the second most recognizable prayer in the United States, if not the Western world. Named for a saint who did not pen it, it was likely created in the early 20th century.  The prayer has been quoted by a variety of governmental officials.  President Bill Clinton quoted it upon Pope John Paul II arrival at the United Nations.  Nancy Peolosi quoted it upon being voted as Speaker of the House, and John Boehner quoted when he announced last September he was stepping down as Speaker of the House. In Europe, Margaret Thatcher paraphased it upon her arrival at 10 Downing Street as Prime Minister of England.  In India, Mother Teresa made it part of the daily prayers of her congregation.  South African Anglican Bishop noted it was an integral part of his devotions.  However, as basic to human needs and desires as the prayer of St. Francis is, it is much more difficult to follow and live the basic tenants professed.
     Lord, make me and instrument of your peace;
     Where there is hatred, let me sow love;

St. Francis

The prayer is thought to have first appeared in 1912 in a French Catholic periodical, with no known author, although some believe the priest who placed it in the journal was the one who penned the prayer.  We do know that it became famous during World War I when Pope Benedict the XV asked that it be distributed as a means to counter to the dark forces which had gathered in Europe.  When printed in the United States the opposite side of a prayer card was an image of Saint Francis of Assisi.  Hence, leading to its commonly attributed name.  It is possible the prayer evolved over time in spoken language before it was put in writing, but there is no evidence in the historical record to date this type of occurence.  While not in the dialect of the Umbrian region from which St. Francis hailed, the prayer does utlize themes emphaszied by this highly regarded man.
     Where there is injury, pardon;
     Where there is doubt, faith;

John Paul II meeting with Mehmet Ali Agca

In our walk through life we have heroes who stand out for what they have accomplished. Individual actions can make a difference.  They make up part of the thousand points of light made famous by President George H. W. Bush.  Some who have seen tragedy and mayhem often express themselves in wanting justice.  It is often the death penalty.  Think back to the bombing in Oklahoma City when President Bill Clinton mentioned how the government would find the perpetrators and bring them to justice and the death penalty.  But, is this the easy way out?  Some take a more difficult path, often brought about by deep thought and prayer.  Killing another may mean justice, but it will never bring a daughter, son, sister, brother, mother or father back.  Emmet Welch, whose daughter died in the Oklahoma City bombing understood this when he spoke against the death penalty for Timothy McVeigh.  He also met with McVeigh's father.  Pope John Paul understood forgiveness and mercy when he met with Mehmet Ali Agca two years after having been shot.  Agca reciprocated this gesture when he laid a wreath at the grave of the late Pope in 2014, 31 years to the day after the Pope met with him in his prison cell.  Of course, John Paul is a saint, and one could say that is what you would expect from a saint.  Yet, forgiveness can be in grained.  In the movie "The Mission" the Guarani Indians forgave Rodrigo Mendoza who had killed or captured and sold some tribe members into slavery.
      Where there is despair, hope;
      Where there is darkness, light;
      Where there is sadness, joy.

Mehmet Ali Agca at Vatican, December, 27 2014

It does not take a saint to forgive.  One other example is Tina Chery.  Her fifteen year old son, Louis Brown was shot dead in 1993.  Louis wanted to be an engineer,  He wanted more from those in the African-American community to counter gang violence.  That is why he joined the organization Teens Against Gang Violence.  As fate would have it, Louis Brown was shot in the mid-afternoon a few days before Christmas in gang crossfire as he made his way to the Teens Against Gang Violence Christmas party.  His mother grieved, but within a year set up the Louis Brown Peace Institute.  She struggled with how she should act.  Like John Paul, she visited the man who killed her son.  She notes when someone is killed, two mothers suffer, two fathers suffer, and two sets of siblings suffer. The mother of the boy who killed her son now volunteers with the institute.  Tina helps her community.  Families of those who see loss, and families of those who committed the horrible deed.
     O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
     To be consoled as to console,
     To be understood as to understand,
     To be loved as to love;

Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu

In a recent story on Tina Chery, Margaret Egan concludes with the following:

A year ago, on Good Friday at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York, the renowned Jesuit James Martin offered reflections on Christ’s last words, including, “Forgive them for they know not what they do.” In “Seven Last Words,” his short book on those reflections, he referred again to the type of “radical forgiveness” Christ showed on the cross and how some of us — the Tina Chérys among us — manage to achieve such radical forgiveness, too. It is very powerful, but very rare. Yet when we see it, we recognize it, he said. We remember it and even yearn for it. For we understand “that this is how God wants us to live,” and that we have seen in such forgiveness a glimpse, in a human being, of the divine.

Tina Chery

Ms. Chery works for peace and forgiveness. She looks to give hope to despair, much like what she has accomplished since the death of her son Louis.   She understands the true meaning of forgiveness and mercy from personal experience.  Emmet Welch understood that as well.  So too  did Pope John Paul II, when he bestowed on Ms. Chery the honor of being a Lady of the Order of St. Gregory the Great, the highest honor bestowed on a lay Catholic.  Few persons better exemplify the principles, and in particular the concluding words, of the Prayer of Saint Francis.  On this Good Friday, let us think beyond the fish fry, the colored eggs, to what is the true meaning of why Christ died on the cross.
     For it is in giving that we receive;
     It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
     It is in dying to self that we are born to eternal life.

“To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you.”-- Lewis D. Smedes (Quoted by Tina Chery to M. Egan.)

Photos from Google images