Peace and the Common Good

So last night I watched President Obama's speech regarding the removal of troops from Iraq, signaling the official end of Operation Iraqi Freedom which was begun by President Bush in 2003.

In case you missed it, here's a link.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzO9LZzZoOk


I watched it on the White House's YouTube channel and participated in the discussion by submitting questions and voting on other questions. The two questions that I posted were (more or less):

1) The establishment of peace happens not merely in the absence of war, but requires the active promotion of the human flourishing of all. What are we prepared to do to assist Iraq in establishing lasting peace even as we remove our troops from their nation?

2) What is your plan, Mr. President, for establishing more collaboration and positive relationships with Iraq and other nations in the Middle East, and to promote long-term peace in the region?

I was shocked at how many people voted negatively against my questions. I was also shocked by how many questions were about "why are we spending billions abroad when we have people here who are in poverty?"  or "Let the Iraqis take care of their own country!"

While "charity begins at home," one also has to recognize that the poor in America often have access to safety nets (resources through social service agencies, charitable organizations, etc.) which do not exist in other nations, especially not in those just recovering from nearly a decade of war. I'm all for taking care of the poor here in the US, but we have to realize that we live in a globalized world. In his encyclical Sollicitudo Rei Socialis, Pope John Paul wrote:

"Solidarity ... is not a feeling of vague compassion or shallow distress at the misfortunes of so many people, both near and far. On the contrary, it is a firm and persevering determination to commit oneself to the common good; that is to say, to the good of all and of each individual, because we are all really responsible for all." (#38).

As I grow older I am realizing that it's problematic to have the view that I'm only responsible for what is immediately in front of me. I can go to the store and purchase a cheap t-shirt at a large store and think: "Great! I saved a few bucks!" But what I might not realize is that that shirt that I just bought was produced in a sweat shop by a child laborer. Or the vegetables we eat - may have been harvested by a migrant worker who is not paid a just wage for his or her labor because she is "undocumented." Nearly everything we consume, use, or purchase these days is a product of the global market. How I live my daily live here in the States - might be having an impact on the daily lives of people all over the world.

As cheesy as it sounds, I can't help but think of the song from Disney's Pocahontas - "And we are all connected to each other, in a circle, in a hoop that never ends."  Catholic Social Teaching would say that our good - is tied up with the common good of all humanity. If there are people suffering in any part of the globe, our good is not being fully realized.

All of us need to pray for the conversion of heart necessary to recognize the truth that we cannot stop caring about the people and situation of Iraq. Yes, we've invested billions in helping to (hopefully) secure political stability and freedom. Yes, it was a high price to pay that required great sacrifices from us as a nation. But  our job isn't - and will never be - finished. Now what the US needs to do is to increase its commitment to providing humanitarian aid and assistance with the economic, cultural, and spiritual development of Iraq. Ultimately, peace is not achieved with weapons but with caritas - love. Our continued commitment to these aims is what will help us secure their good - and ours.

10 Days

10 Days until I leave for Jerusalem!

I'm working on crafting a pre-departure novena prayer to say up until the day I leave, starting tomorrow. I've searched high and low for one that's already written (a novena for pilgrimage to Jerusalem, that is), but have found none. What I have found, quite interestingly, is that traditionally Psalm 122 has been prayed by Jews and Christians as they approach the Holy City:

Psalm 122

A song of ascents. Of David.

¹ I rejoiced with those who said to me,
"Let us go to the house of the LORD."

² Our feet are standing
in your gates, O Jerusalem.

³ Jerusalem is built like a city
that is closely compacted together.

⁴ That is where the tribes go up,
the tribes of the LORD,
to praise the name of the LORD
according to the statute given to Israel.

⁵ There the thrones for judgment stand,

the thrones of the house of David.

⁶ Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
"May those who love you be secure.

⁷ May there be peace within your walls
and security within your citadels."

⁸For the sake of my brothers and friends,
I will say, "Peace be within you."

⁹ For the sake of the house of the LORD our God,
I will seek your prosperity.

What I also found was Pope Benedict XVI's prayer that he left in the Wailing Wall after his trip to Jerusalem, which is also nice:

God of all the ages,
on my visit to Jerusalem, the "City of Peace",
spiritual home to Jews, Christians and Muslims alike,
I bring before you the joys, the hopes and the aspirations,
the trials, the suffering and the pain of all your people throughout the world.
God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob,
hear the cry of the afflicted, the fearful, the bereft;
send your peace upon this Holy Land, upon the Middle East,
upon the entire human family;
stir the hearts of all who call upon your name,
to walk humbly in the path of justice and compassion.
"The Lord is good to those who wait for him,
to the soul that seeks him!" (Lam 3:25)

Looking at these prayers, and some others I've found, I've realized that the Church and the whole People of God, first, the Jewish people, and then us Christians, have continually prayed for PEACE for Jerusalem. While I go on pilgrimage, I want to keep in mind my own intentions and those intentions which my friends and family have entrusted to me, but also, to pray for the wider intention of peace in the Holy Land. As I travel, I hope I will have the opportunity to visit local Christian communities - to visit communities of Christians that have weathered much persecution throughout the centuries and who still find themselves a minority in a hostile place. Meeting the local Christians in Jerusalem, I hope will inspire me to join them in praying for peace in their homeland. Their intention - and the Pope's intention - will be mine as well.

But at the same time, I want to craft a prayer that is deeply personal, and which also speaks to the great desires of my heart and the ways I want God to work in my life. Consequently, I've also been looking at a number of other prayers that really speak to me in my current situation, including this famous prayer by Thomas Merton:

My Lord God,
I have no idea where I am going.
I do not see the road ahead of me.
I cannot know for certain where it will end.
Nor do I really know myself,
and the fact that I think I am following your will
does not mean that I am actually doing so.
But I believe that my desire to please you
does in fact please you.
And I hope that I have that desire
in all that I am doing.
I hope that I will never do anything
apart from that desire.
And I know that if I do this
you will lead me by the right road
though I may know nothing about it.
Therefore I will trust you always
though I may seem to be lost
and in the shadow of death.
I will not fear
for you are with me,
and you will never leave me
to face my perils alone.

I've got to find a way to combine all of these. Wish me luck!

Prayer for Peace

I had a discussion with a friend tonight about how sad it is that Barack Obama won the Nobel PEACE Prize and is now having to send 30,000 more troops into Afghanistan to continue fighting in a WAR that has been going on for several years now.

Whether we like it or not, we are a nation involved in a war that is NOT just.
Just War theory defines very specific details of when war can be used, and it is very clear that it is only a last resort. According to most (if not all) Catholic theologians, the just war criteria were not met prior to launching into this war. Regrettably, most Catholics are silent, perhaps even indifferent on the matter. It is a grave injustice, and yet we often do nothing to stop it.

It seems that the saints were very different in their approach. Consider Pope John Paul II's strong words: "War is always a defeat for humanity."

And also - consider the words and example of Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati. In A Man of the Beatitudes: Pier Giorgio Frassati, Lucianna Frassati writes:

p. 38

"The Great War continued with its tremendous weight of sacrifice. Pier Giorgio withdrew into long silences, interrupting his reflections with agonized questions on the drama of the dead, the wounded, and the widows. He often spoke about it with Natalina Novo, the servant girl, whose brother had already been killed in the war. One day she told him the news she had heard from our father: "Two thousand mountain troops cut off from the Italian lines and shelled by enemy cannons."

Dismayed, my brother asked her: "Natalina, wouldn't you give your life to stop the war?"

"Certainly not," replied Natalina. "I am young and my life is as dear to me as that of the soldiers."

Pier Giorgio stared at her, saying, "I would, I would today."

Would that we young Catholics had the same yearning for peace!
Let us all take some time to pray for peace.

God our Father,
Creator of the world,
You established the order which governs all the ages.
Hear our prayer and give us peace in our time,
that we may rejoice in Your mercy
and praise You without end.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ Your Son,
who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
One God forever and ever. Amen.

Idan Raichel Project

I went to an AMAZING concert tonight in the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center here at Notre Dame. It was a group called the Idan Raichel Project. Here's a bit of info about them from the program:

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ABOUT THE IDAN RAICHEL PROJECT:

"Six years ago, when Israeli keyboardist and composer Idan Raichel was an unknown musician working in a home studio in his parents' basement in a small city near Tel Aviv, he never imagined that his musical experiments fusing Middle Eastern, African, Indian and other global sounds would ever result in the biggest-selling records in Israeli history and propel him into a role as a major figure in the international global music scene. The Idan Raichel Project's explosive rise saw the multicultural collaborative break sales records in Israel and perform across the globe to rapturous crowds in some of the world's most prestigious venues..."

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The group is led by lead singer / piano player Idan Raichel, and he also involves musicians from around the world, meshing their sounds to create a sound that is unique and truly global. The Project also has the goal of spreading the message of peace and tolerance.

The concert was one of the most fun, uplifting, and interesting I have ever been to! Very enjoyable. I would recommend checking out their webpage or downloading some of their songs, although I have to say, I just downloaded some of their songs and they don't compare to hearing them play live!

I stayed for the post-concert interview / Q & A time, and it was interesting. He draws on the scriptures (particularly the psalms) for some of his lyrics (most of the songs are in Hebrew). Anyway, someone asked him why he uses the scriptures as a source for his songs. He responded by quoting someone else, basically saying "all that is useful has already been written; we simply have to go back and tap into the wisdom of what came before us. It's all in there, it's all we need."

www.idanraichelproject.com/en
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idan_Raichel

Here's a few samples of his music that I really like:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EH6Hs7P2xW0&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJfFdcHQvKI

(the videos on You Tube are a bit weird, but music is great!)