During this Advent season, let us open our hearts and minds to welcome the Prince of Peace more fully into our lives. Jesus came to “give light to those who live in darkness and the shadow of death, and to guide our feet into the way of peace.” (Luke 1:79).
Sadly, conflict, war, and crime continue to beset us at every corner. But our Christian hope propels us to build right relationships among all peoples. You and I must play our part during this holy season to become peacemakers, to build pillars of peace.
CCSJ’s Calendar for 2011 will be circulated over the next few weeks. We have chosen: “Pillars of Peace” as our theme. The following is the script that appears on the Calendar. I encourage schools and parishes to use this information to construct/draw/paint your own pillars of peace:
“In his 1963 encyclical, Peace on Earth, Pope John XXIII stated that there are four pillars of peace: truth, justice, love and freedom. In his Message for World Day of Peace in January 2002, Pope John Paul II added another ‘pillar’: ‘forgiveness’. He said: ‘My reasoned conviction, confirmed in turn by biblical revelation, is that the shattered order cannot be fully restored except by a response that combines justice with forgiveness. The pillars of true peace are justice and that form of love which is forgiveness.’
“In his Peace Message for 2003, Pope John Paul II said that:
‘Truth will build peace if every individual sincerely acknowledges not only his/her rights, but also his/her own duties toward others.
‘Justice will build peace if in practice everyone respects the rights of others and actually fulfills his/her duties toward them.
‘Love will build peace if people feel the needs of others as their own and share what they have with others, especially the values of mind and spirit that they possess.
‘Freedom will build peace and make it thrive if, in the choice of the means to that end, people act according to reason and assume responsibility for their own actions…peace lies in the defense and promotion of basic human rights, which every human being enjoys, not as a benefit given by a different social class or conceded by the state, but simply because of our humanity.”
If we are truly a Eucharistic people, a people of the Beatitudes, we will listen to what God is telling us to do and act on it. Remember the words of Psalm 85:
“I am listening. What is Yahweh saying? What God is saying means peace for his people, for his friends, if only they renounce their folly…”
Are we willing to renounce our “folly”? Talking about “follies”, have you seen the news about the US$20,000 advertisement paid for by the American Atheists group? It’s a large billboard with the image of the nativity in silhouette – erected outside the Lincoln tunnel in New Jersey, USA. The words read: “You KNOW it’s a Myth… This Season Celebrate REASON! American Atheists… reasonable since 1963.”
The CCSJ condemns such displays of religious intolerance. I am reminded of the words of Pope Benedict XVI. At the recent funeral of one of his assistants, Manuela Camagni, he lamented that humankind is “created for joy, but we no longer know where joy is, and we seek it in different places. Today we see this desperate search for joy that increasingly moves away from its true source, the true joy. Forgetfulness of God, forgetfulness of our true memory.” Joy, he says, comes from the memory of God.
Interestingly, The Catholic League has responded to the Atheists’ billboard message by accepting money from a kind donor to pay for a 26 x 24 foot billboard on the New York side of the tunnel. It features a picture of Joseph and Mary with baby Jesus. The message reads: “You know it’s real. This season, celebrate Jesus. Merry Christmas from the Catholic League.”
Bill Donohue, president of the Catholic League said: “Our approach is positive, and services the common good. Theirs is negative, and is designed to sow division.”
I end with the words of a blogger, Mountain Man, who wrote: “God loves atheists. This season, go on, give Him a call…”
CCSJ wishes to remind you all to give generously during this season. Reach out in love to others.
