An Instrument of His Peace

By Deacon Robin Adair

Many of you know and admire our pastor, Fr. Norm Douglas’ more favorite sayings I call “Normisms”. Things like, “Take a quiet moment, what inspired you, what challenges do need to hear?”. Or “no stinkin thinkin!”. One of Fr. Norm’s favorite sayings that he lives by is, “We might not see eye to eye, but we can relate heart to heart”. And another, “healthy, spiritually based dialogue is not about either/or, but about both/and”.

Wise words to live by in this politically charged climate as we are just a few weeks away from another Presidential Election, and our country once again is at the brink of high anxiety. One thing that seems obvious to me is that our country is an increasingly divided one. As noted in our new parish series, “Many Voices, One Spirit”, “Americans are tending more and more to allow political afliation to determine not just who they vote for but who they will befriend, unfriend, date, and do business with; and allow political afliation to shape their values, concerns, and moral commitments, even more that their faith tradition or family of origin does; even to the point where some even feel unsafe in the company of those who do not share their opinions or world view.

On sensitive issues like abortion, firearms, race, immigration, vaccines, same sex marriage, book bans, politically correct speech, our personal stances are increasingly predicable based on political afliation, and they are increasing hardening. Debates have been replaced by memes and talking heads often not based on fact and met with estrangement and silence. And as a result, the Catholic community is deeply afected by these political issues and trends. Diversity is nothing new in the Church as it witnesses in a worldwide multiplicity of languages and cultures, economic settings and political framework. Polarization also sharply divides our Church reducing it to “us vs. them”. Our work as Catholics is to build bridges, respect one another, and re-establish connections while following the Church’s teaching on how to make a conscious moral decision”. 

More than ever we Catholics must take seriously the virtues of unity, friendship, understanding, forgiveness and Christian charity. We should never have to leave our church feeling “debased by a brother or sister” because our personal and political opinions are not always in agreement or of value. Obviously, we as friends will never agree on everything. But as Catholic Christians seeking Jesus and our Church for answers, we must practice peaceful and respectful dialogue, and refrain from judging one another by political affiliation. 

Pope Francis shared a prayer based on St Francis of Assisi’s Peace Prayer rewritten for our time:

“Lord, make us instruments of your peace.

Help us to recognize the evil latent in a communication that does not build communion.

Help us to remove the venom from our judgements.

Help us to speak about others as brothers and sisters.

You are faithful and trustworthy; may our words be seeds of goodness for the world:

where there is shouting, let us practice listening;

where there is confusion, let us inspire harmony;

where there is ambiguity, let us bring clarity;

where there is exclusion, let us ofer solidarity;

where there is sensationalism, let us use sobriety;

where there is superfciality, let us raise real questions;

where there is prejudice, let us awaken trust;

where there is hostility, let us bring respect;

where there is falsehood, let us bring truth. Amen”.