Homily Day of Prayer and Fasting for the Holy Land: For the Peace of Jerusalem Prayer

 Homily for Mass for the Preservation of Peace and Justice

Notre Dame Seminary, New Orleans LA

October 17, 2023

READINGS: Rd 1 - 888-3 - Jas 3:13-18, Ps - 889-3 - Ps 122:1-2, 3-4a, 4b-5, 6-7, 8-9, Ac - 890-1 - Matt 5:9, Gs - 891-2 - Matt 5:38-48

Introduction

“Prayer is the meek and holy force to oppose the diabolical force of hatred, terrorism and war.”  With these words at last Sunday’s Angelus, Pope Francis invited all believers to pray and fast today for the people of the Holy Land.

Inviting the faithful to pray is something that the Pope has consistently done, starting the very day he was elected pope.  He has invited the whole world to pray during the COVID crisis; he invited us to pray when the war in Ukraine broke out.  The terrorist attacks by the Hamas on innocent Israeli citizens is clearly another occasion for worldwide prayer.  For although the conflicts in Palestine have been going on for many decades, the ferociousness of these recent events has raised the stakes for violence and terror to new levels.  And as Catholics, one of our responses, is prayer.

Scripture and Theology

But what will prayer do, one might ask?  Is this not just another case of “thoughts and prayers” often glibly doled out by politicians and celebrities after a tragedy?

For us Catholics, prayer is how we deal with everything, the good, the bad and especially the ugly.  We turn to God. Our prayer today continues in the Old Testament tradition of prayer by lamentation.  A large portion of the psalms and the Book of Lamentations are exactly the kind of prayer we offer now. We cry out to God in agony, naming our terrible sufferings and asking God, as only he can, to save us.  Even when with Jesus we ask: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” we are not doubting him, but instead trusting him.  Because our relationship with him is that of a humble child talking to a loving father, we trust that he knows and will answer our prayers according to his will and in his time.  Our prayer of lament is not a sign of despair, but the antidote to it; it is not a sign of hopelessness, but a sign of hope.

Such prayer of lament also helps us be real and not live in the clouds.  We avoid the extremes of either sweeping our of pain under the rug or reacting in the kind of vengeful ways Jesus teaches against in the Sermon on the Mount.  We respond constructively by telling God, “This is what we are feeling.  Can you do something about it?” And then we leave it to him.

Besides lament, our prayer today is also a prayer of intercession.  We are praying primarily not for our own suffering, but for the suffering of others, even our enemies, real or perceived.  With Pope Francis, we are praying that “children, the sick, the elderly, women, and all civilians not be made victims of the conflict.”  We are praying for bereaved mothers who have seen their children die brutally, from both the attacks of Hamas and the indiscriminate bombings of Gaza by the Israeli military.  We are praying for the release of the Israeli hostages taken by Hamas, whose place Cardinal Pierbattista, the Patriarch of Jerusalem, has offered to take.  We are heeding the instruction of St. Paul to Timothy, “that supplications, prayers, petitions, and thanksgivings be offered for everyone, for kings and for all in authority” (1 Tim. 2:1).

Christian Life

But our prayer for the Holy Land must not leave us unaffected.  This day should inspire us to be better informed the complex situation of the Holy Land.

1.    Do we know enough about the Holy Land conflict to speak about it through the lens of faith and reason, and not that of ideology?  Do we know about the unspeakable living conditions of 2.5 million Gazan including 150 Catholic families?

2.    Do we know something about the on-going efforts at mediation, even by the Church?  Do we know about the two-state solution long supported by the Church, "which would allow Palestinians and Israelis to live side by side in peace and security", for peace can only come from justice?

3.    Do we know what the Church teaches about legitimate and proportional self-defence as opposed to vengeance?

Conclusion

Psalm 122, which we prayed for Vespers 1 this past Sunday says, “For the Peace of Jerusalem pray”.  And so, as we celebrate this Mass, this sacrament of unity, “Let us pray for the Israelis; let us pray for the Palestinians; let us pray for Christians, Jews, and Muslims.”  Let us pray for ourselves, that we may always work for peace and justice always.