Although I am not Catholic, I do read what Catholic leaders write. I believe that these words also come from God.
Pope John Paul II wrote, “So, in beholding the glory of the Trinity in creation, we must contemplate, sing, and rediscover wonder.” Right John Paul, we must wonder at the glory of God when he allows a crazed terrorist to smash a window on the 32nd floor of a Las Vegas hotel and kill 59 concert goers and seriously wound almost 600 others. However, let us not forget the thousands of others who will be forever traumatized by this event and suffer with PTSD for the remainder of their lives.
Last night, at our Lectio Divina contemplative prayer group, we discussed a passage from Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, where, among other things, Paul speaks of the undying Love that God gives us. I sometimes find it impossible to live a life of rapture, basking in God’s Love, when I awake to the horrific news from Las Vegas. I posted a prayer on Facebook, almost immediately, asking for God’s Love and forgiveness for the victims and their families, for the politicians who are too cowardly to face the gun lobbyists, and for ourselves, who keep electing these traitors to our society, unless of course, the truth is that we are actually the very barbaric nation of loveless people we seem to be.
I pray that we are not. As a society, we are over-programmed to shun God’s Love in favor of a more seemingly comfortable acceptance of our distorted societal values.
Are we really this way? Are we so numbed by the daily recurrence of gun violence in our communities? I am all for voting these deceitful politicians from office; but I cannot hate them. They are also children of God. I must offer God’s Love to them, as I would to my friends and family. By loving freely (not free love), I am fulfilling Paul’s message: he writes in his letter, and I paraphrase: God gives us the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that we may know Him better. I now must extend this Love to include the man who committed this violence, knowing that he also is a child of our ever-Loving God.
Of course!! Have a Loving day, even amidst this horrifying news.
Meditating to Heal 