I do a lot of listening. I listen in my home, my work, in the market, and in my ministry of spiritual direction. Wherever I go, I am hearing fear and concern. Hearts are troubled. We feel compassion for the suffering in our nation and in the world, yet we are at a loss about how to help.
This state of paralysis is not from God, and St. Ignatius would advise that we fight against it. To move forward, we might draw inspiration from the words of holy women and men who lived through times of great hardship. What advice might we find for times like these?
- “Pray without ceasing” was the advice St. Paul gave to the nascent Christian community in Thessalonica (1 Thessalonians 5:17). Let your heart translate every worry into prayer. Name the concern, and ask God to take care of it. Your heart can be a monastery from which prayers rise day and night.
- Pray for everyone, including those you consider enemies. Jesuit William Barry advised, “When we find ourselves outraged at injustice against others, we need to check to find out the source of our anger. Is it motivated by love for those who suffer the injustice, or is it more a wish to harm the perpetrators of the injustice?…We have to remember that God loves everyone, even the perpetrators of injustice, and God wants their conversion.” (Experiencing God in the Ordinary, 180–81)
- Trust in God. Julian of Norwich, who observed neighbors around her falling to the plague, wondered in prayer how life could go on when the world was in such a state. She concluded, “All shall be well, all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well.” Even when all seems lost, God’s love will overcome.
- Put your faith into action. Consider your gifts, and ask God to help you discern how to use them to make the world a better place. Perhaps start with the well-known prayer, “Lord, make me an instrument of your peace: where there is hatred, let me sow love.” Do not underestimate your gifts; God has endowed you with them to build a better world. For instance, if you are a good listener, you might use this gift to accompany others. Or if you are a skilled advocate, lend your voice to the voiceless.
- Do not be overwhelmed by situations that seem so complex that you can’t imagine how you could make a difference. St. Thérèse of Lisieux advised, “Miss no single opportunity of making some small sacrifice, here by a smiling look, there by a kindly word, always doing the smallest right and doing it all for love.” (Story of a Soul) Small deeds can have surprisingly powerful effects.
- Live “as if.” In God’s Kingdom, justice reigns, and the dignity of all people is respected. John Lewis, who walked with Martin Luther King, Jr., recalled, “‘And you live as if you’re already there, that you’re already in that community, part of that sense of one family, one house. If you visualize it, if you can even have faith that it’s there, for you it is already there.’” (Barry, Experiencing God in the Ordinary, 184)
Keeping in mind these six actions for answering suffering with love, we pray for our nation and our world:
Creator God,
Advocate of the poor, forsaken, and outcast,
hear our prayer today.
Through your eternal love,
you give breath to each of us,
in every corner of every continent,
your beloved children, in whom you delight.
You give breath to us each moment
until we rest in you.
You taught us compassion
when you sent your only Son to walk with us and suffer with us
on this earthly journey.
And through him,
you illuminated the path to the fullness of life.
Disturb our hearts, O God.
Let us never ignore that twinge
that beckons us stand up
and come to the battlefield of love.
Be with us now.
Ground us in hope.
Strengthen our resolve
to gather your family and mend the wounds.
Heal our fractures and divisions.
Command peace and justice to reign
in our land―and all lands.
Seek out the lost, your children too,
and speak undeniable love
to hearts that have hardened.
Invite us again
to your table, O God,
brothers and sisters all,
united by love,
where all will be one.
We believe in your promise
and trust in your Word
that this day will come.
Amen.