Comments on: In remembrance http://www.commonwealmagazine.org/blog/?p=2294 Thu, 09 Sep 2010 05:48:52 +0200 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8 hourly 1 By: Bob Schwartz http://www.commonwealmagazine.org/blog/?p=2294&cpage=1#comment-29222 Bob Schwartz Fri, 12 Sep 2008 17:52:19 +0000 http://www.commonwealmagazine.org/blog/?p=2294#comment-29222 Bill: Heard and understood. I do agree with your last statement: <i><b>Certainly, the complete picture is not seen in this life, especially for those who have been terribly tortured and murdered. Yet we enter into their sufferings and pray to a merciful God to make all whole again.</i></b> Bill:
Heard and understood. I do agree with your last statement:

Certainly, the complete picture is not seen in this life, especially for those who have been terribly tortured and murdered. Yet we enter into their sufferings and pray to a merciful God to make all whole again.

]]> By: Bill Mazzella http://www.commonwealmagazine.org/blog/?p=2294&cpage=1#comment-29166 Bill Mazzella Fri, 12 Sep 2008 02:21:33 +0000 http://www.commonwealmagazine.org/blog/?p=2294#comment-29166 Thank you, Bob, for your consideration. Mollie gave the words of Jesus above. As always the words of Jesus are piercing challenges. When we do good to all, not only are we true children of God, but we become what we ought. We fulfill the potential in us for love and we turn swords into ploughshares. Our beings turn into love as we strive to become children of God who shines the sun on the just and unjust. Certainly, the complete picture is not seen in this life, especially for those who have been terribly tortured and murdered. Yet we enter into their sufferings and pray to a merciful God to make all whole again. Thank you, Bob, for your consideration. Mollie gave the words of Jesus above. As always the words of Jesus are piercing challenges. When we do good to all, not only are we true children of God, but we become what we ought. We fulfill the potential in us for love and we turn swords into ploughshares. Our beings turn into love as we strive to become children of God who shines the sun on the just and unjust. Certainly, the complete picture is not seen in this life, especially for those who have been terribly tortured and murdered. Yet we enter into their sufferings and pray to a merciful God to make all whole again.

]]> By: Claire http://www.commonwealmagazine.org/blog/?p=2294&cpage=1#comment-29155 Claire Fri, 12 Sep 2008 00:18:17 +0000 http://www.commonwealmagazine.org/blog/?p=2294#comment-29155 Bob: As I see it, it means not harboring hard feelings towards them, and not wishing that bad things happen to them. Separating the acts from the people, and remembering that they are our fellow human beings anyway. Letting go of that hard knot of resentment. It's not easy. Bob:
As I see it, it means not harboring hard feelings towards them, and not wishing that bad things happen to them. Separating the acts from the people, and remembering that they are our fellow human beings anyway. Letting go of that hard knot of resentment. It’s not easy.

]]> By: Kathy http://www.commonwealmagazine.org/blog/?p=2294&cpage=1#comment-29153 Kathy Thu, 11 Sep 2008 22:16:35 +0000 http://www.commonwealmagazine.org/blog/?p=2294#comment-29153 My clearest memory is from a Mass we celebrated that day with the school kids in the parish where I worked in a DC suburb in Maryland. The children were seriously frightened and frankly the pastor wasn't helping. I played the guitar before Mass and during Communion and there was this second grade red headed boy who kept turning around and looking hugely gratefully at me for the music: it signified for me how intensely upset the children were. I didn't have a tv and so I didn't see what most people saw over the next few weeks: the endless loop of the plane hitting the second tower, the collapses. I've often wondered how damaging those pictures were for kids. My clearest memory is from a Mass we celebrated that day with the school kids in the parish where I worked in a DC suburb in Maryland. The children were seriously frightened and frankly the pastor wasn’t helping. I played the guitar before Mass and during Communion and there was this second grade red headed boy who kept turning around and looking hugely gratefully at me for the music: it signified for me how intensely upset the children were.

I didn’t have a tv and so I didn’t see what most people saw over the next few weeks: the endless loop of the plane hitting the second tower, the collapses. I’ve often wondered how damaging those pictures were for kids.

]]> By: Mollie Wilson O'Reilly http://www.commonwealmagazine.org/blog/?p=2294&cpage=1#comment-29147 Mollie Wilson O'Reilly Thu, 11 Sep 2008 20:36:28 +0000 http://www.commonwealmagazine.org/blog/?p=2294#comment-29147 To follow up: I did go to mass this morning. The readings for the mass (an elementary-school event) were chosen specially for the day, with the Beatitudes from Matthew as the Gospel. But <a href=http://www.usccb.org/nab/091108.shtml rel="nofollow">the readings assigned</a> to today in the cycle are also quite pertinent, especially the Gospel: <i>“To you who hear I say, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you... then your reward will be great and you will be children of the Most High, for he himself is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. Be merciful, just as also your Father is merciful."</i> To follow up: I did go to mass this morning. The readings for the mass (an elementary-school event) were chosen specially for the day, with the Beatitudes from Matthew as the Gospel. But the readings assigned to today in the cycle are also quite pertinent, especially the Gospel:

“To you who hear I say, love your enemies,
do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you,
pray for those who mistreat you…
then your reward will be great
and you will be children of the Most High,
for he himself is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked.
Be merciful, just as also your Father is merciful.”

]]> By: Bob Schwartz http://www.commonwealmagazine.org/blog/?p=2294&cpage=1#comment-29117 Bob Schwartz Thu, 11 Sep 2008 17:27:45 +0000 http://www.commonwealmagazine.org/blog/?p=2294#comment-29117 Claire: Your comment, <i><b>Do not make your forgiveness conditional on your enemy’s actions. Maybe one day you will wish you could forgive them. You don’t want your peace of mind to depend on them</b></i> though well intentioned, is one I've heard before. My issue with the idea of forgiving someone unrepentant is that the "forgiving" would be completely meaningless, would it not? Bill: As always I respect your thoughts; this time, however, I must admit that I do not fully understand what you are saying. Perhaps you could elucidate? Claire:
Your comment,

Do not make your forgiveness conditional on your enemy’s actions. Maybe one day you will wish you could forgive them. You don’t want your peace of mind to depend on them

though well intentioned, is one I’ve heard before. My issue with the idea of forgiving someone unrepentant is that the “forgiving” would be completely meaningless, would it not?

Bill:
As always I respect your thoughts; this time, however, I must admit that I do not fully understand what you are saying. Perhaps you could elucidate?

]]> By: John Borst http://www.commonwealmagazine.org/blog/?p=2294&cpage=1#comment-29089 John Borst Thu, 11 Sep 2008 03:16:40 +0000 http://www.commonwealmagazine.org/blog/?p=2294#comment-29089 Mollie, thank you for sharing your story. Telling stories is one of those things that makes us human. They hold mystery and lessons. They are teaching moments. One of the messages buried nicely in yours is <i>And then I went to class. It seems ridiculous now, but at the time I didn’t even consider not going </i> Although the context was different, I think it mirrors the decision I and my wife made at the time and I still think it the correct thing to have done. I can only hope that someday America will be able to begin to dismantle the gates it has put up around itself since then and be able to live at peace with both itself and the rest of the world's nations. Mollie, thank you for sharing your story. Telling stories is one of those things that makes us human. They hold mystery and lessons. They are teaching moments.

One of the messages buried nicely in yours is And then I went to class. It seems ridiculous now, but at the time I didn’t even consider not going

Although the context was different, I think it mirrors the decision I and my wife made at the time and I still think it the correct thing to have done.

I can only hope that someday America will be able to begin to dismantle the gates it has put up around itself since then and be able to live at peace with both itself and the rest of the world’s nations.

]]> By: Bill Mazzella http://www.commonwealmagazine.org/blog/?p=2294&cpage=1#comment-29083 Bill Mazzella Thu, 11 Sep 2008 02:18:55 +0000 http://www.commonwealmagazine.org/blog/?p=2294#comment-29083 What we should ponder is that many worse atrocities happened than 9/11. What makes 9/11 is that it hit home and took us out of our comfort zone. The holocaust was thousands of times worse and it does not approximate the impact of 9/11. It is only valid when it is personal. The other major point, as Mollie alludes to when "forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those" was being recited by her community. That is we showed that we have trouble being Christian and more epithets were thrown at Islam than olive branches and more guns were shot than entreaties for peace. God was leading us to destiny again. God was on our side and we were right and never wrong. Way more than those other crusades where it cost nothing, the quest was on again to conquer and convert others or they were going to hell. More effort was given to send a team of preachers into Baghdad than to prevent a preemptive and unjust war. Big potential lesson. Not learned yet. What we should ponder is that many worse atrocities happened than 9/11. What makes 9/11 is that it hit home and took us out of our comfort zone. The holocaust was thousands of times worse and it does not approximate the impact of 9/11. It is only valid when it is personal.

The other major point, as Mollie alludes to when “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those” was being recited by her community. That is we showed that we have trouble being Christian and more epithets were thrown at Islam than olive branches and more guns were shot than entreaties for peace. God was leading us to destiny again. God was on our side and we were right and never wrong.

Way more than those other crusades where it cost nothing, the quest was on again to conquer and convert others or they were going to hell. More effort was given to send a team of preachers into Baghdad than to prevent a preemptive and unjust war. Big potential lesson. Not learned yet.

]]> By: Claire http://www.commonwealmagazine.org/blog/?p=2294&cpage=1#comment-29073 Claire Wed, 10 Sep 2008 23:58:54 +0000 http://www.commonwealmagazine.org/blog/?p=2294#comment-29073 Bob: Do not make your forgiveness conditional on your enemy's actions. Maybe one day you will wish you could forgive them. You don't want your peace of mind to depend on them. Bob:
Do not make your forgiveness conditional on your enemy’s actions. Maybe one day you will wish you could forgive them. You don’t want your peace of mind to depend on them.

]]> By: Bob Schwartz http://www.commonwealmagazine.org/blog/?p=2294&cpage=1#comment-29070 Bob Schwartz Wed, 10 Sep 2008 22:18:38 +0000 http://www.commonwealmagazine.org/blog/?p=2294#comment-29070 My day of remembrance on 9/11 will be to stoke and nurture my hatred of the islamo-fascist beasts who perpetrated that atrocity, and to vow that I will <i><b>never</i></b> forgive them until and unless they all, to a man, ask for forgiveness. And of course that will never happen, since some of them are dead. I won't be holding my breath. My day of remembrance on 9/11 will be to stoke and nurture my hatred of the islamo-fascist beasts who perpetrated that atrocity, and to vow that I will never forgive them until and unless they all, to a man, ask for forgiveness. And of course that will never happen, since some of them are dead. I won’t be holding my breath.

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