A Sunday Thought About Syria
Did you pray and fast yesterday? Pope Francis asked us to do so. Here in the Northeast, the hours between 1 PM and 6 PM were designated to pray and fast for peace in Syria.
This past week, we talked a bit about prayer and sacrifice - about how critically important they are to our lives. But when the Pope asked us to pray and fast, my initial response was to think, "OK, but how is that going to change anything? The situation there is so messed up, these few hours of prayer and fasting probably won't make a difference. But I'll do it anyway" Maybe you thought the same thing.
And there, folks, you have the "old man" talking. That's the guy who believes that his own actions "make a difference" in this world. It's the guy who forgets that only God makes any difference worth while.
It's not that we shouldn't want to help others, of course. But, really, what can you or I do to help the people in Syria? The answer isn't "nothing." The answer is prayer and sacrifice. Hence the Holy Father's request.
So, okay, you prayed and you fasted. Now understand how important this was and is. Put the "old man" behind you and strive to be holy by understanding, once and for all, that the merit of our lives isn't in our activity. It's in proportion to our holiness. And we become holy to the extent that we strive to do God's will, no matter what that might be.
Prayer and sacrifice - that's where our holiness begins and ends. As for the efficacy of yesterday's prayers and fasting, that's up to God, not us. Trust in Him, even as the tragedy in Syria continues. We simply don't and can't see His plan, and the Syrian civil war is part of that plan, as surely as the sun rising today was part of His plan.
I know, it doesn't sound very happy, this plan of God, if it includes the horrors of the events in Syria. I wish I could understand His plan better. But I can't; neither can you. For us, prayer and sacrifice, the desire to do His Will, the daily effort to sanctify our work, leading exemplary lives - that will be sufficient for the day.
This past week, we talked a bit about prayer and sacrifice - about how critically important they are to our lives. But when the Pope asked us to pray and fast, my initial response was to think, "OK, but how is that going to change anything? The situation there is so messed up, these few hours of prayer and fasting probably won't make a difference. But I'll do it anyway" Maybe you thought the same thing.
And there, folks, you have the "old man" talking. That's the guy who believes that his own actions "make a difference" in this world. It's the guy who forgets that only God makes any difference worth while.
It's not that we shouldn't want to help others, of course. But, really, what can you or I do to help the people in Syria? The answer isn't "nothing." The answer is prayer and sacrifice. Hence the Holy Father's request.
So, okay, you prayed and you fasted. Now understand how important this was and is. Put the "old man" behind you and strive to be holy by understanding, once and for all, that the merit of our lives isn't in our activity. It's in proportion to our holiness. And we become holy to the extent that we strive to do God's will, no matter what that might be.
Prayer and sacrifice - that's where our holiness begins and ends. As for the efficacy of yesterday's prayers and fasting, that's up to God, not us. Trust in Him, even as the tragedy in Syria continues. We simply don't and can't see His plan, and the Syrian civil war is part of that plan, as surely as the sun rising today was part of His plan.
I know, it doesn't sound very happy, this plan of God, if it includes the horrors of the events in Syria. I wish I could understand His plan better. But I can't; neither can you. For us, prayer and sacrifice, the desire to do His Will, the daily effort to sanctify our work, leading exemplary lives - that will be sufficient for the day.
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