My friends, as difficult as it is and even though I say this while gurgling blood thanks to my clenched teeth and bitten tongue - offer a Divine Mercy chaplet for the man. He needs it far more than Judas.
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On the movie, The Stoning of Soraya M, it came to me that this end was exactly what St. Joseph wanted to prevent with his betrothed, our Blessed Mother, when he learned she was pregnant even though they had not come together. Within the story of Soraya, within her Passion, I saw the metaphor of the innocent woman as a Christ-figure, tortured, beaten, killed, the lamb sacrificed so that her spouse could follow his infidelity.
And in the end, no one was Redeemed, no one was freed from sin, there was no Justice, and there was certainly no Mercy. There was only death and destruction.
As the credits rolled, I prayed a Requiem and other prayers for Soraya M., and all those women of Islam stoned for their innocence for the guilt of the men who tortured them, only to find that I cannot, in sincerity, do the same for a man most in need of mercy as he stands before Our Lord in judgment. And yet, as a Christian, I know that it is necessary for our own salvation to pray for and forgive our enemies - even that criminal Osama Bin Ladin.
Eternal Father, I offer you the body, blood, soul, and divinity, of your dearly beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world. For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.
Jesus I trust in Thee. Jesus I trust in Thee. Jesus I trust in Thee.
Remember: There is no such thing as Justice without Mercy.
3 comments:
As always, your posts are just great. And thought provoking and therefor question provoking! On the question of mercy and forgiveness I have trouble. I've brought it up before. My parents, being good at it, taught me that actions speak louder than words. So, I have come to regard my actions as more important than what I say. I see my actions as a true reflection of who I am. Even to myself. In otherwords, my parents linked my SELF to my ACTIONS, hoping to make sure I became a good person. I think that has created a problem for me as a Christian. It's hard for me to seperate peoples actions from their SELVES. If they lie, they are liars. If they steal, they are thieves. If I were to put it into other words still, I cannot hate the sin and love the sinner. I equate people with their actions. If their actions are bad...how are THEY not bad?
Hi Jose ~ Thanks for your comment. I'm sorry I haven't been able to respond but I'll try to get a good answer to you today. Again, worthy of a new post. :-)
Thank you! Your always so generous with your time and knowledge.
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