Salt and Light Catholic Media Foundation
Copyright © 2019
by Ralph F. Couey
Lord make me an instrument of thy
peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow
love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
Where there is sadness, joy.
--St. Francis of Assisi
It is not news that the world we live in has become consumed
in conflict, both verbal and physical.
And as usual, there are innocent victims. In this country, political passions are at a
fever pitch. Words of anger and
condemnation, and threats of violence are being hurled from both sides. The possibility of armed conflict has moved
from the laughable to the possible.
The United States is no longer united, rent by a chasm that
deepens and widens with each passing day, a wound that may never fully heal.
There was a time when a church was a place of refuge from
the acidity outside, a true sanctuary of peace.
But now the passions of politics have invaded our churches. Words of
anger and division are beginning to be heard from the pulpit. Rather than rising above conflict, we are now
mired deeply within it.
