"I have decided to proclaim for the whole Church ... a day of fasting and prayer for peace in Syria, the Middle East, and throughout the world, and I also invite each person including our fellow Christians, followers of other religions, and all men of good will, to participate, in whatever way they can, in this initiative."
Our Mother General (head honcho of all the Salesian Sisters) also wrote a letter encouraging us to participate in this day of solidarity and reminded us that we can be bearers of peace everyday: in teaching the children we work with how to deal with conflict, in our own daily encounters with others and in our living of Christ's call to be charitable to all. She mentioned how in a particular way through this effort we are in solidarity with our Sisters who are present in Egypt and Syria.
Sometimes I feel very removed from the world, especially living in the convent. I guess that's sort of the point, to be living 'set apart' from the world. I focus on what we've "given up" to live this life and what a sacrifice that can be. Today we meditated on Luke's Gospel where Jesus tells us, anyone who does not renounce all his possessions cannot be my disciple. Wow. Not sugar coating anything there. Sister had asked us to reflect on what is our everything, our possessions that we are holding on to, that are keeping us from really embracing the all that He has to offer us. For me, often its my will, my pride, my selfishness. I get caught up in what I want, what I know or how I am feeling. How silly to think that these could be more important than His endless blessings ... graces ... mercy. If I can only let go of all I'm holding onto and empty myself, He will be able to fill me up.
Times like this remind me how connected we are to our Brothers and Sisters in the faith everywhere. Here we are doing something so small, spending some extra time in prayer and reflection, skipping a meal, in order to remind ourselves that in other parts of the world, people are suffering immensely. They are unable to go to Church to pray, they are unable to leave their house to buy food, because they are in a war zone. We are in communion with them when we take seriously our responsibility to be people of peace. We encounter people who are suffering everyday. Not in the same way, but these are our opportunities to respond to His call. To smile at the person who is grumpy with you, to correct a mistake without complaining, to overlook a defect in someone you live or work with, to accept criticism without excusing yourself and to offer all these things with joy. This allows us to realize that even though we have probably never experienced anything like what our Brothers and Sisters in the Middle East are living, we can still be united with them, keeping them in our minds and on our hearts through prayer and sacrifice.
Won't you join us in praying and living as people of peace?
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