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A Surge of the Heart A St. Therese-Like Response to the Frustration with War The war in Iraq has been an incredible source of pain and frustration for all of us. I often feel quite guilty regarding my lack of witness, prayer and sacrifice on behalf of ending the war. Perhaps some others feel the same. I think of myself as standing by helplessly watching the war and the violence of our culture. A comparison comes to mind. How awful it must have been for the many people standing on the shores of the Mississippi River at the time of the recent bridge tragedy in Minneapolis. Right before their eyes there was so much death, pain and helplessness. Yet some had to stand there unable to help, not knowing what to do. I feel as though I am standing by as the bridge of life collapses. The following three graced experiences have given me some prayerful insights and have helped to ease my feelings of powerlessness and helplessness: 1) listening to a ABC News Report on Iraq, 2) reconnecting with my devotion to Therese the Little Flower, and 3) ministering at Inglis House. First Graced Experience A brief TV news report on the war in Iraq helped me to intensify my focus on the insanity and pain of war. On Monday evening, July 16, 2007 the ABC national news presented a vivid, raw and rarely seen sequence of actual fighting in Iraq. The broadcast included the following scenes. ► A bombed, burning vehicle with about a half dozen American soldiers dying inside it. ► American soldiers searching an Iraqi home for the perpetrators, only to find a feeble handicapped screaming old woman. ► A suspicious car fired upon, killing an innocent taxi driver. ► Two angry American soldiers presented on camera venting their intense frustration and anger with Congress. One soldier said, “Let them come out here and stay with us for a while.” Another spoke of his anxiety and fatigue. “You can’t get your body to calm down. You can’t rest enough.” This report was an unusually personal, powerful, and moving look at war. It was Viet Nam news reports revisited. It jolted me: “I must do something. What can I do?” Second Graced Experience Recently I reconnected with my devotion to St. Therese, the Little Flower. Her “little way” seemed to elicit from me a call to a way of being more actively involved with the issues of war and peace. Every once in a while I try to make a prayer visit to local Churches and shrines such as St. John Neumann Shrine, the Lourdes Shrines at St. John the Evangelist and Our Lady of Lourdes Church, and the Holy Spirit Chapel of the Pink Sisters. This past July, for some reason, I thought of St. Therese the Little Flower, and I visited the Carmelite Convent, a place I had rarely considered. While there I came upon the book Everything is Grace: A Life of St. Therese by Joe Schmidt F.S.C. (Word of God Press.) He beautifully portrays the “Little Way” of Therese which calls for changing the world and bringing peace through little acts of love and prayer. Brother Joe also discusses Dorothy Day’s commitment to St. Therese’s spirituality (p.15-16). Dorothy herself had written a book about Therese (Life of Therese, Temple Gate Press). In her book, she compares the power of the Little Way with the force of an atom and the atomic bomb:
What a grace to trust that little acts of sacrifice and prayer are “explosive forces” for peace which can be sent to Iraq and around the world. The Scriptures and the life of Jesus have always taught the value of redemptive suffering. Third Graced Experience One of my ministries, while serving at St. Matthias in Bala Cynwyd, has been to visit the people of Inglis House (2600 Belmont Ave. Philadelphia). This has had a deep and moving impact on my life. Inglis House is a Residence for some three hundred wheelchair-bound people who suffer from various paralytic disorders and injuries. Though besieged with human frailty and sinfulness, as we all are, these people reflect holy ground and the spirit of Therese and her Little Way. Their culture is full of littleness: ► little wheelchairs sometimes motorized with little steering devices ► little containers of water attached to little straw-like tubing to facilitate drinking ► little strength in various limbs and muscles, and ► little ability to speak, communicate and maneuver. These people perform many little acts of love and prayer that redeem the evil of violence and make for peace. The gatherings at Mass and Rosary at Inglis House are often punctuated with awkward sporadic groaning and stuttering caused by restricted and impeded vocal powers. Rather than invade the silence and rhythm of worship, these sounds seem to become integrated with the prayer. There is a sense of inclusive, sincere, heartfelt praise and thanksgiving to God. Therese’s definition of prayer, “a surge of the heart and a simple glance toward heaven” is fulfilled here. This “surge” (rather than a military surge) is the real surge our country needs to bring about peace. Besides a “surge of the heart and a glance toward heaven,” Therese’s prayer calls for a “love that embraces both trial and joy.” On one of my visits to Inglis house, I saw this “love, trial and joy” in one of the residents. Bill is almost totally incapacitated and unable to speak. When I arrived at his door, I found him in his wheelchair apparently half asleep. His head was bowed, his eyes were sunken and a heavy beard made his face hard to read. I approached tentatively. After my introduction and greeting, he directed me with head gestures and groans to the alphabet chart which he used for communicating. He pointed to the letters. I announced the letters as he pointed. It was painfully slow. Eventually he was able to share a brief background of his life ending with, “I went to LaSalle College.” I became comfortable that we were communicating. I responded, “I went to St. Joe’s College.” Then without any facial change whatsoever, he pointed to his alphabet chart: G-E-T 0-U-T! I became nervous. Was he serious? I turned to leave and then turned back. He raised his head, looked me straight in the eye and smiled. There was joy in his face. Again he began to point out letters: T-H-E H-A-W-K I-S D-E-A-D. (For those unfamiliar with the Big Five, this is a reference to St. Joe’s constant proclamation: “The Hawk will never Die!”) Here is a man whose body and mind are full of war, yet like Therese, he embraces both trial and joy and makes peace in his “little way.” These three graced experiences and blessings have helped to calm my spirit and ease my frustration with my inadequate response to war and violence. Hopefully, those of us sensing we fall short of active involvement, ever grateful to the peacemaking and anti-war activist, can take consolation in practicing the faith and prayer of Therese. We can be sure that a “surge of the heart and a glance toward heaven” along with little “Therese-like” acts of love can empower us and can contribute to the ending of war and the making of peace. These acts can, in the words of Dorothy Day, become “explosive forces” that can “transform the life of the world.” Fr. Joe Meehan |