Becoming Prayer For Peace and Social Justice – Pt 1
(This article originally appeared in the Spring/Summer Issue of the TAU-USA Issue #103)
by Carolyn D. Townes, OFS, National Animator
So often over the past few years, when there is a national tragedy like a mass shooting, the default reaction is for prayer. Then the response comes back that prayer is not enough; we need to do something to halt the violence: we need to work for tighter gun control; we need to take action to stop the violence. And yes, this is very true. We do need to work and take action against the violence that permeates our nation and our world. But do we do away with prayer altogether, as if it is not enough to end the violence? Do we march forth into battle with no preparatory crying out to God for guidance and strength? Are we to fight the good fight on our own accord, in our own power?
Our Holy Rule states fervently, “As Jesus was the true worshipper of the Father, so let prayer and contemplation be the soul of all they are and do” (Art. 8a). Just as the great prophets of old fell on their faces crying out to God for deliverance from their enemies and their oppression, we too must cry out to God with the same passion and conviction. One such example was the prophet Nehemiah.
Nehemiah was a cupbearer to the King of Susa during the exile. He received word that the Israelites who had returned to Jerusalem were in great need. Their city needed a wall of protection Nehemiah prayed to God, and God sent him to help build this wall. All throughout the book of Nehemiah, we see that he prays to God every step of the way. By the end of the book, the wall is built, and Nehemiah continues to pray for the repentance of the people and their return to God and God’s covenant.
Through the tragedies of life, the storms of life, the violence and hatred, God must be our first line of defense and not our last resort when all else fails. And how do we get God’s attention? Through fervent prayer.
At the beginning of this year, I wanted our Secular brothers and sisters to fall on our faces, repent and cry out to God to restore our troubled land. I hosted two separate prayer services for lamentations and hope on Zoom. Both sessions, attended by about 150 Franciscans from across the United States and Guam, reminded us all that we can do nothing in our own power; but it is the power of God who will forgive our sins and heal our land. The passage from the Book of Chronicles came to me as I moved forward with the prayer service:
“If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and heal their land.” (2 Chronicles 7:14)
The call to pursue peace and social justice can seem quite overwhelming. And in that situation, all we know to do is to cry out to God in prayer, as did the prophets of old. This is the best place to begin when you are feeling helpless from being overwhelmed. Then God, who hears our prayer, will animate and guide us in what is ours to do. Perhaps all we are to do is pray. Or we are to write letters to our legislators. Or we are to gather our fraternity members to pray and then feed the hungry. God will not show us what is ours to do if we do not pray and ask. “Lord, show me what is mine to do today for your Kingdom and your glory!”
I will leave you with the words I received from the Holy Spirit when I fell on my face and cried out to God asking what was mine to do in this time of strife and violence. These words were downloaded into my heart. I shared this poem on the virtual prayer service and I share it here:
IMAGINE A WORLD: A POEM OF LAMENT
Imagine a world where there is no violence where there is only compassion and care.
Imagine a world where there is no despair where we thrive on hope, for ourselves and one another.
Imagine a world where there is no division where we know that our neighbor is for us and we are always about the business of unity.
Imagine a world where there are no wars, no injustice, no oppression, and no divisions.
Imagine a world where children can flourish and grow and are not thrown away before they have seen the light of day.
Imagine a world where compassion and empathy and care are the norm, and we rise up and reach out to any who are not under the mantle of mercy and peace.
Can you imagine this world? Can you take just one moment, the time it takes to breathe a breath, to imagine this world?
Breathe it; feel it; see it; be it – just because you truly need it.
We all need this world. We all need to be reminded that this is not our world, that this world belongs to God our Creator, God our Redeemer, God our Comforter.
God gave us this world to keep and care and love and honor. God gave us this world to love our neighbors and have no enemies. God gave us this world to cultivate and till and sow and reap.
And what have we done in return?
Oh, look what we have done in return?
Oh God, please forgive us! God, please hear us!
As we cry out to You with our heads bowed low in mourning and grief.
But You are a God of second chances.
You are a God of sweet forgiveness.
You are a God who does not give up on His children – especially when we have not heeded Your will.
Oh Lord, help us do better. Help us be better. Help us to see what You see in us and for us.
Oh Lord, we are the people who are called by Your name, we do humble ourselves, and we do pray and seek Your face, Oh Lord, please hear us, please forgive us and please heal our land.
MAY THE LORD CONTINUE TO GIVE YOU HIS PEACE
“Who Goes There?”
(This article originally appeared in TAU-USA Issue 103 Spring/Summer 2021)
By Fr. Christopher Panagoplos, TOR, CNSA
In the Winter Issue of TAU-USA, Jan, our National Minister, spoke of “prophetic creativity,” that necessary gift to achieve total renewal of the Order. She is inviting us all to reach back and retrieve from down deep the many gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit. We embark on this journey of transformation, in wonder, humility, and possibility —the interior movement of the Spirit—Who accompanies us upward and outward. St Francis grew into the understanding “Go, rebuild…” as an action call to rebuild and reinvigorate, himself first, then for others, who will see in him a model pointing towards making the Kingdom of God a reality on earth.
With the advent of the Second Vatican Council (more than a half century ago!), the “holy People of God are viewed as sharing in Christ’s prophetic office.” They are “…a living witness to Him, especially by means of a life of faith and charity.” As a prophetic people, the People of God are expected to lead the way, to become prophets and leaders in the rebuilding process. And as Secular Franciscans, with the world as our cloister, there have never been any boundaries between the dimensions of Franciscan charism and any other aspect of our life. “What we have to be is what we already are” (Thomas Merton, Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander).
I believe prophetic creativity began for St Francis as he knelt in silence before the Christ of the Cross of San Damiano. As a response to God’s self-communication, a personal relationship was borne in a steady conversion of heart as his life’s direction. It would flourish with communal concerns. Did he not ask a prayed-for gift of “insight”? Is not the gift of insight forged in the flame of Franciscan formation that we strive for and cherish?
Franciscans, seculars and religious, are immersed in social, economic, and political reality. We cannot sit by and remain passive to the needs, aspirations, movements, and accomplishments of society. It is here that God is revealed and where prophetic creativity is fashioned—giving us a spirit enlivened to be genuinely involved in the affairs of the world.
I believe prophetic creativity can be the solution to time and change in human relationships −respecting the “I-Thou” relationship—a communion-as-encounter, as Pope Francis teaches. If we are in communion with the other, and are present to the other—with trust, respect, attentiveness, patience, and humility—we become more present toward ourselves. Communion with others can give new meaning to experiences that otherwise would have been closed.
Prophetic insight. Prophetic creativity. Sisters and brothers, strive to let these be pathways for the sake of the Gospel. The Reign of God will always be challenged. The common good must deserve our attention and be a priority. The gift of loving concern will be for others.
Familiar as we are with the need for ongoing conversion, let it open us up anew to a variety of encounters and relationships. We will be capable to engage in dialogue with others who think and act differently than we. In Fratelli Tutti, Pope Francis voices a clear calling for the recognition that all people are our brothers and sisters. Seeking forms of social friendship that include everyone, the Holy Father is inspiring us to move from the level of words to the realm of action—by accompanying, caring for, supporting, and developing a culture of belonging.
Let us, then, embark on this transformative journey of prophetic creativity. By the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, may we see the world as God sees it, and love the world as God does. “What we have to be is what we already are.”
“What we have to be is what we already are.”
Thomas Merton