Bishop Urges Witness Of Hope During Mass For Peace

Bishop Charles C. Thompson joined his brother bishops across America on Sept. 9 in pausing to pray for peace in our communities. The bishop celebrated a special Mass for Peace at St. Benedict Cathedral in Evansville. Concelebrants included Father Chris Forler, pastor of St. John the Evangelist Parish in Daylight; and Father Steve Lintzenich and Father Bernie Lutz, retired priests of the Diocese of Evansville.

Earlier this year, Archbishop Joseph Kurtz of Louisville, Ky., president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, proclaimed Sept. 9 as a National Day of Prayer for Peace in our Communities in the wake of multiple mass shootings that have occurred this year.

On the Church calendar, Sept. 9 is the Memorial of St. Peter Claver, a Spanish-born Jesuit who spent almost four decades serving slaves in the Caribbean region who had been brought to the new world.

“In addition to providing them with food and medicine, St. Peter Claver is said to have baptized over 300,000 slaves,” Bishop Thompson said in his homily. “These were people who the world did not see as important, and yet they had the utmost attention of this little saint. While trying to bring about changes in the system and the hearts of others, St. Peter kept his sights on the dignity of every person he served. In fact, he referred to himself as the slave of the slaves forever.

“His witness is one of untiring service to the margins of society, similar to St. Teresa of Calcutta … reaching out to those who society quickly overlooked,” Bishop Thompson said. “Such witness was rooted, no doubt, in the Jesuit conviction of ongoing prayer and discernment … recognizing that every life mattered that indeed, every soul mattered. “

The day’s readings included the passage from Luke’s Gospel in which Jesus tells His disciples, “Remove the wooden beam from your eye first;then you will see clearlyto remove the splinter in your brother’s eye” (Luke 6:42).

“Fidelity to Jesus Christ must be at the heart of our sacrifices and our efforts to proclaim the good news,” the bishop said. “True discernment, as Jesus makes clear in the Gospel, involves a willingness to focus on one’s own faults rather than those of others. Just think how much better our world would be by that simple act of each of us focusing on our own faults rather than those of others.

“Recognizing our own need for mercy, we are more apt to respond in mercy to others rather than react with vengeance or retribution,” he added. “Prayerful discernment is born of deep conviction that love overcomes evil … that mercy trumps hatred … that we can rise above our fears … that forgiveness opens the path to healing … that nothing is beyond the transforming power of divine grace.

“Through prayerful discernment, people of good will can, indeed, prevail in unity and peace,” Bishop Thompson said. Our witness can be the means through which the tide of violence can be turned … beginning in our families, our work places, our schools, our parishes, and going beyond.

“Ultimately, it rests not so much in ourselves  as in the saving grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,” he concluded. “In Him, there is always hope; and in His name, may we be the witnesses and ambassadors of that hope.”