By Bishop Richard J. Malone 12/17/2015
I write
this month from Baltimore, where the bishops of the United States are
gathered for our annual Fall Plenary Meeting. As we concelebrated the
Eucharist early this Sunday morning. I offered Mass for all of you who
constitute the community of faith that is the Diocese of Buffalo. (Did
you know that diocesan bishops offer one Mass each Sunday and holy day
of obligation pro populo, that is, "for the people," just as pastors are
required to do weekly for their parishioners?)
This
Sunday Mass was different for me. Before I went down to the large hotel
meeting room that serves as our chapel, I was watching continuing TV
coverage of the horrific massacre in Paris perpetrated by ISIS
terrorists and resulting in 129 people killed and 352 injured. Sitting
quietly in the chapel for the half hour before Mass, I struggled to put
aside, at least for that next hour, the emotions of shock, anger,
sadness and, yes, anxiety that were roiling my soul.
How the
world needs the mercy of God, I thought; that mercy that is God's gift
to us, and that calls us to live mercy in our relationships with others,
and with the world. The Paris tragedy is a prime example of precisely
the opposite of mercy. It is nothing other than raw, merciless cruelty
on a massive and insane scale. Even as Pope Francis calls the Church to
embrace the upcoming Jubilee of Mercy, he responded to the Paris
slaughter with words like "barbarity" and "intolerable."
The
Holy Father's question echoes in all of our hearts when he asks, "How
can it come to the heart of man to conceive and carry out such horrible
acts?" A vital expression of the mercy we owe to all the Paris victims
and their loved ones will be to bring the perpetrators and their leaders
to justice. A commitment to mercy for the entire world will be an
international effort to liberate the world from the scourge of ISIS
terror.
Most
importantly, this recent tragedy reminds us of the great need for
prayer. I know that you join me in praying for peace in our world, for
the repose of the souls who were lost, for those mourning the loss of
their loved ones, and for the recovery of those who were injured in this
and all other such attacks.
These
were some of my distractions before Mass. I think I was not alone in
that struggle. But God's grace - His mercy shown to me today - calmed me
enough that I was able to enter into the Mass prayerfully and with a
degree of serenity. And as I prayed for you, I remembered other reasons
why we need to beg God for a flourishing of mercy in our diocese during
the Jubilee Year.
I
thought of all those situations in our own lives where we are called to
live the corporal and spiritual works of mercy - to feed the hungry,
give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, welcome the stranger, heal
the sick, visit the imprisoned and bury the dead; and to counsel the
doubtful, instruct those lacking knowledge, admonish sinners, comfort
the afflicted, forgive offenses, bear patiently those who do us ill, and
pray for the living and the dead.
Many
paths to a deeper experience of God's mercy, and to our call to live
that mercy ourselves, will be available throughout our diocese during
this Jubilee Year. Please take advantage of them. And let us remember
our Holy Father's invitation:
"In
this Jubilee Year, may the Church echo the word of God that resounds
strong and clear as a message and a sign of pardon, strength, aid, and
love. May she never tire of extending mercy, and be ever patient in
offering compassion and comfort. May the Church become the voice of
every man and woman, and repeat confidently without end: 'Be mindful of
your mercy, O Lord, and your steadfast love, for they have been from of
old' (Ps. 25:6)." Misericordiae Vultus, 11 April 2015.