We know that peace is often elusive, and we also know that there is often a cost to creating peace. Many who have worked to create peace have paid for their efforts with their lives. Although some are part of history like Lincoln who after the Civil War looked to create peace, others have died within our lifetimes and are still part of memory.
This past week was the 42nd anniversary of the murder of four American churchwomen in El Salvador: Two were Maryknoll sisters: Maura Clarke, one an Ursuline sister Dorothy Kazel, and Ita Ford; one was a lay missioner, Jean Donovan. Attacked on a lonely road by the Army, they were raped, brutally murdered, and left in shallow graves.
It took 20 years and a civil lawsuit to bring into the open the involvement of former defense minister Jose Garcia-Merino and General Carlos Vides-Casanova in their murders and another 15 years to have them deported for human rights violations. The martyrdom of the four women serves to remind us that there can be a cost to working for peace, but it is so necessary to do. May God give us the courage to work for peace.
Prayer for the Day
We hear the words of the prophet, how the lion will lie with the lamb,
But we know, O God, how difficult it will be to bring this to fruition;
We hear the sounds of Christmas promising peace,
But we wonder how it will be accomplished in our or any time.
Bring us to a place, O God, where we become peacemakers,
Not in a sentimental way but through a commitment to your justice.
In the name of the One who calls us to justice and peace,
Even Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen
Thoughts for the Day
I hope you come to find that which gives life a deep meaning for you. Something worth living for—maybe even worth dying for—something that energizes you, enthuses you, enables you to keep moving ahead. I can't tell you what it might be—that's for you to find, to choose, to love.
- Ita Ford, in a letter to her niece (1940-1980)
Non-cooperation with evil is as much a duty as is cooperation with good.
- Mohandas Gandhi, architect of peace (1869-1948)
Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and will not be afraid,
For the Lord God is my strength and my might;
God has become my salvation.
Isaiah 12: 2