Fifteen years ago, the United States experienced a horrific act of violence as terrorists flew planes in to the world trade center and the pentagon. Countless lives were lost and many families will forever have wounds. This cycle of violence has not ceased in recent years. In the past year alone, there have been terror attacks in France, Belgium and Israel as well as the ongoing wars in Syria and Iraq.
Besides those larger scale events, there have been other crimes committed. Among them, four religious sisters killed in Yemen, more recently, another two murder in the United States and just this past week, one in Haiti. There was also the murder of the French priest, Fr. Jacque Hamel, about a month ago. In the United States, racial hate crimes are a common occurrence as well as violence of police against citizens and citizens against police.
To the rest of us who are witnessing, it can be quite overwhelming. It seems like the world has gone mad. Perhaps it has, or perhaps we are more aware of things happening globally due to methods of instant communication. However, the antidote is prayer. Every time we hear bad news, we should offer up a prayer whether it be for the victims but also the perpetrators. May I also add that many crimes go unreported in more obscure countries. Things that happen to nameless people that are quietly swept away because the world deems them unimportant. So pray, pray hard, pray for those who suffer, pray for the enemies and pray for those that are forgotten.
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