Dear Friends,
I've spent the last few days in the company of a US film crew, who are documenting the persecution of Christians here.
It has been a somewhat emotional, exhausting experience, concentrating on such a very difficult subject. Many people have shared their experiences with us.
Yesterday we went to Our Lady of Salvation Church. It was there that, on October 31, more than 50 worshippers were slaughtered when extremists stormed the church.
It was difficult going back there. The carnage of that day is still evident. Tell-tale signs of the violence litter the place. Pictures of those killed pepper the walls. I knew several of them.
A photo of three-year-old Adam hangs among them. It brought tears to my eyes. Adam was the little boy who followed the terrorists through the church, as they killed his parents, asking them to stop, saying enough of the killing.
Called to be peacemakers
This weekend our Gospel reading has been the Beatitudes. Such a familiar reading, yet here in this situation it spoke so much to us.
In the Beatitudes, we are taught to be merciful, pure in heart, to be humble and meek. We are told that the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are persecuted.
There is one stand-out point declaring something we must actively work at: peacemaking.
In essence, the Beatitudes are about being persecuted and striving still for peace. It is the essence of our work here, our work for reconciliation.
Suddenly, the very heart of the Beatitudes comes alive.
Then Matthew 5:12 sums up what our response should be: Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Joy in the face of suffering
