You are the only priest who talks about the war.

So said a parishioner to me, on leaving church this Sunday past.  I thought to myself - "Am I?'  However, my voiced response was - "Why wouldn't you as it is part of our reality into which the gospel is immersed!"  Our world reality!  

At the present time, I have an issue with war in our world.  Like so many, I am struck by the images of suffering and horror caused by war in the Ukraine.  I want it to stop now.  There is no point to it.  Then I find myself moving beyond my immediate reaction of compassion and revulsion to thinking.rationally, there are too many wars in our world.  None of them can be forgotten.  Not one can overshadow the other.  

I understand the world focus on Ukraine and I will never minimize its impact on suffering people, nor its barbarism.  Yet isn't that what all wars have in common?  They are simply barbaric and horrible, and very much so for those caught up in the midst of them.  The great tragedy of our world is that Ukraine does not stand alone.  The great truism is that there is no need for war anywhere, but it happens and that is part of our harsh reality. 

Then, in the past week, a friend offered me a helpful insight into my concern.  She said to pray for peace in one war is to pray for peace in all wars.  As we reach out to those sufering in one war, so we are reaching out to those suffering in every war.  As we help people in one war, so we are helping people in all wars. 

My friend's insight gave me a vision for proceeding.  Here is the key word - vision.  To deal with our world in any productive sense, to be able to live the gospel in the midst of the chaos that makes up our world, we need a vision, a shared vision.  The gospel gives us that vision which empowers us to look beyond the mess and chaos of our world to see the possibilities alive for a better world, a world that does not have to be brought down by the base instincts of men and women.  Humanity deserves so much more and will achieve much more, if we only go deeper to our better instincts, to the one God with us and within us.  Spirituality matters always.  

As Proverbs says, "The people without a vision will perish."       .