‘Ambassadors of Peace’ Amid A Nation Of The Angry And ‘Broken-hearted’
I spent the last three days in the small town of Bartonville, IL at a quiet oasis of prayer and peace. The monastic community of St. John the Baptist and St. Benedict (also known as St. Benedict’s Abbey) is grounded in the Catholic tradition, but ecumenical too, open to members of various Christian denominations. Its main mission is working for unity — the fulfillment of Jesus’ own prayer that “all may be one.”
I was there to guide a retreat for the lay associates of the abbey, known as “oblates,” who themselves represent multiple denominations but are united in their passion for living the Benedictine monastic values of community, hospitality, humility, simplicity, prayer and praise.
I returned home to the sad news that violence had struck the presidential campaign, something so many of us feared would happen in the over-charged atmosphere of division, bitterness and fear infecting our politics.
In sharp contrast, at the retreat we explored what it means to be “an ambassador of peace” wherever we find ourselves. We discussed our call as lay Benedictines to maintain a “contemplative calm” in chaotic and troubled times. We reflected on the words Pope Francis spoke to oblates from around the world who visited him in Rome last September:
“You are called to be models of welcome to whoever knocks at your door.”
Being at St. Benedict’s filled me with hope that despite our nation’s troubles, there is still much good taking place in quiet ways. Guests are greeted by one of the monks carrying a pitcher of water, a basin and a towel, who then washes the visitor’s hands in a ritual reminiscent of the footwashing guests would receive in ancient monasteries as a show of hospitality and humility on the part of the monks.
St. Benedict’s includes just four monks and one religious sister, but the work they do is amazing. Each Saturday, they hand out overflowing boxes of food from the pantry they operate in the abbey’s basement for the needy in the local community. It puts food on the table for an average of 168 people each week.
Because all four of the monks were born in Puerto Rico, the abbey has a special spiritual outreach to the local Hispanic community. Members of the local community often join the monks for meals and, in turn, volunteer at the abbey.
At Masses, the St. Benedict’s community offers this prayer for unity:
“Give us grace seriously to lay to heart the great dangers we are in by our unhappy divisions; take away all hatred and prejudice, and whatever else may hinder us from Godly union and concord … There is but one Body and one Spirit, one hope of our calling, one Lord …”
A prayer that takes on even deeper meaning following this weekend’s shooting.
As someone who spent most of my career in the national media, I’ve had the sinking feeling for a while now that some form of violence would erupt during the campaign. It is a sad irony that Saturday’s violence in Pennsylvania was directed at the candidate who has refused to rule out the possibility of violence by his supporters and who has tried to justify the violent acts committed during the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol. Our heart aches for both sides.
We know little at this writing about the 20-year-old shooter, whose bullets grazed the former president, killed a bystander, wounded two others and was killed by law enforcement. Still, the blame game has started. Supporters of the former president already are pointing fingers at their political opponents for being ultimately responsible.
Again the words of Pope Francis to the Benedictine lay associates prove prescient:
“There is no need for Christians who point fingers, but for enthusiastic witnesses who radiate the Gospel in life and through life.”
Sadly, the shooter in Pennsylvania (a state founded on the promise of peace) apparently used the very type of military-style automatic weapon that members of the former president’s party repeatedly have refused to ban for public sale. Is this latest violent episode enough to finally prompt our public officials to deal with the scourge that the widespread availability of these automatic weapons poses?
I do not want to engage in blaming either. I’d rather return to the gospel witness of the four monks and one sister who have made St. Benedict’s Abbey such a bright spot of hope in these dark times. Repeatedly in conversation and his formal remarks, Abbot Luis Gonzalez reminded our gathering that “God provides.”
The abbey remains open and does its work on an annual budget that is less than what many middle class families live on. God provides. And yes, even in what seems to be a dark and threatening time, it is important to remember God is present, God is with us. God provides.
The great spirituality author and educator Parker Palmer once told me something I’ve never forgotten. He said it’s important to remember that the people who are so angry and dissaffected in our country right now have in some way been emotionally wounded. Parker calls them, “the broken-hearted.”
Perhaps it is too idealistic, but can the shooting this weekend finally convince us as a nation to stop the vitriol and start working toward healing? Can we refocus on our common good rather than what divides us?
There is another prayer for unity that the community of St. Benedict prays on a regular basis. It is a prayer for unity within the Christian Church. Still, at this moment of inflection, the words seem apt as well for our nation:
“Fill it with all truth, in all truth with all peace. Where it is corrupt, purge it; where it is in error, direct it; where anything is amiss, reform it. Where it is right, strengthen and confirm it; where it is in want, furnish it; where it is divided, heal it and unite in Thy love, through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
At this critical moment in our national journey, how can we be “ambassadors of peace” like the members of the monastic community of St. John the Baptist and St. Benedict? How can we help to heal “the broken-hearted?”
To learn more about the monastic Community of St. John the Baptist and St. Benedict, please visit https://www.sbabbey.com/
