Allow me to beging with a brief summary. Former Canadian Air Force Colonel Russell Williams has recieved two life sentences after pleading guilty to strangling two women -Jessica Lloyd and Marie-France Comeau- raping two others, and breaking into dozens of homes to steal the panties of women and young girls. Mr. Williams was the commander of the largest Air Force base in Canada and the pilot entrusted to fly Canadian dignitaries around the world.
The Calgary Sun (Friday, October 22, 2010) , following up on the outcome of the case had the following headlines: "Rot In Hell" on the cover and "No Sympathy For This Devil" on page four. It is this us religious language which has prompted me to respond. I am reminded of a case in the early 1900's and its respective fallout which will put in perspective the proper way to deal with persons committing such atrocities such as Mr. Williams.
On July 5, 1902, finding eleven year old Maria Goretti alone sewing, Alessandro Serenelli came in and threatened her with death if she did not do as he said; he was intending to rape her. She would not submit, however, protesting that what he wanted to do was a mortal sin and warning Alessandro that he would go to Hell. She desperately fought to stop Alessandro, a 20 year old farmhand, from abusing her. She kept screaming, "No! It is a sin! God does not want it!" Alessandro first choked Maria, but when she insisted she would rather die than submit to him, he stabbed her eleven times. The injured Maria tried to reach for the door, but Alessandro stopped her by stabbing her three more times before running away. Maria Goretti died the following day.
Alessandro Serenelli was captured shortly after Maria's death. Originally, he was going to be sentenced to life, but since he was a minor at that time the sentence was commuted to 30 years in prison. A priest came to see him soon afterward, and he turned on the cleric in rage, howling like a maniac and lunging at him.
In the days which followed, Alessandro lost his appetite and grew nervous. After six years of prison, he was near the brink of despair. Then one night, Maria appeared to him in his cell. She smiled at Alessandro and was surrounded by lilies, the flowers symbolic of purity. From that moment, peace converted Alessandro's heart, and he began to live a constructed life.
After serving his sentence, Alessandro took up residence at a Capuchin monastery, working in the garden as a tertiary. He asked pardon of Maria's mother and accompanied her to Christmas Mass in the parish church where he spoke before a hushed congregation, acknowledging his sin and asking God's forgiveness and pardon of the community. Alessandro Serenelli died on May 6, 1970 in the Capuchin convent of Macerata. He had accompanied Maria's mother to the canonization of St. Maria Goretti on June 24, 1950.
Jesus Christ didn't come for the righteous, the honourable. He came for the sinners.
"And when the scribes and Pharisees saw Him eating with the tax collectors and sinners, the said to His disciples, 'How is it that He eats and drinks with tax collectors and sinners?' Whe Jesus heard this, He said to them, 'Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.'" Mark 2:16-17
Jesus then gives us this description of what we must do saying: "For I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.' ... And the King will answer and say to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it Me." Matthew 25:35-36,40
Was not Alessandro Serenelli the very least worthy, and yet he was granted forgiveness from God? Is not Russell Williams also the least deserving of such mercy?
St Paul directs us in what to do with those we label as "evil." He said, "Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. ... Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, 'Vengeance is Mine, I will repay' says the Lord. Therefore, if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." Romans 12:17, 19-21
So then my brothers and sisters we must pray that we do not come into temptation. We must pray for the souls of the deceased, for Russell Williams, and for all involved. Let not the legacy of Jessica Lloyd and Marie-France Comeau be of hate, rather of love.
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Guys, I've Had A Revelation About My Faith #2
Tonight, I was meditating upon the second Luminous Mystery of the Holy Rosary. The second Luminous Mystery pertains to the Wedding at Cana and that Christ turned water into wine at the bidding of His mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary who declared of Christ: "Do whatever he tells you."
I was using a YouTube video as a visual aid with Fr. Benedict Groeschel narrating the Rosary and aiding in reflection upon the Mysteries of Faith. The video used footage from the many movies about Jesus Christ of Nazareth and a particular clip showed Jesus Christ dancing at the wedding in Cana.
Now don't get me wrong, as long as I've been with Christ, I have always know that he was God incarnate -that God became man. However, such knowledge was always dead to me for I could see such written in the Bible and hear of such in homilies but never did I understand.
Tonight, the Lord has greatly blessed me so that I could understand, for he opened my eyes and my ears! Hallelujah! God became man. Let me say it again: God became man! The God way up there renounced all of His glory, came down on this very Earth and assumed our human nature. Yes, Jesus Christ: Lord of lords and King of kings became as human as you and I.
You and I both know how truly dirty and filthy we mere mortals are. How we devour each other out of anger, greed and envy. The passions and desires for power, money and sex infects our hearts, pulsing through our veins and making us as zombies of true cruel brutality.
Why on earth would God want to take on our nature? How could He even stand to dwell among us as we reek of evil? It's because He loves us. Such a love I cannot comprehend. It is so high that I cannot attain it! Oh but such a love of God which we can not be separated from. Yes, neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Jesus Christ our Lord!
Such a love seizes our infected hearts and reclaims our veins, our mind, our soul and our strength. He takes us sinners with a future and makes us saints with a past. Who are we that we should be given all things through him who loves us? Who are we that the LORD God should come down to our level out of love to give us the chance of intimate union with him? And yet all he asks is that we deny ourselves, pick up our Cross and follow him.
Yes indeed, God became man!
I was using a YouTube video as a visual aid with Fr. Benedict Groeschel narrating the Rosary and aiding in reflection upon the Mysteries of Faith. The video used footage from the many movies about Jesus Christ of Nazareth and a particular clip showed Jesus Christ dancing at the wedding in Cana.
Now don't get me wrong, as long as I've been with Christ, I have always know that he was God incarnate -that God became man. However, such knowledge was always dead to me for I could see such written in the Bible and hear of such in homilies but never did I understand.
Tonight, the Lord has greatly blessed me so that I could understand, for he opened my eyes and my ears! Hallelujah! God became man. Let me say it again: God became man! The God way up there renounced all of His glory, came down on this very Earth and assumed our human nature. Yes, Jesus Christ: Lord of lords and King of kings became as human as you and I.
You and I both know how truly dirty and filthy we mere mortals are. How we devour each other out of anger, greed and envy. The passions and desires for power, money and sex infects our hearts, pulsing through our veins and making us as zombies of true cruel brutality.
Why on earth would God want to take on our nature? How could He even stand to dwell among us as we reek of evil? It's because He loves us. Such a love I cannot comprehend. It is so high that I cannot attain it! Oh but such a love of God which we can not be separated from. Yes, neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Jesus Christ our Lord!
Such a love seizes our infected hearts and reclaims our veins, our mind, our soul and our strength. He takes us sinners with a future and makes us saints with a past. Who are we that we should be given all things through him who loves us? Who are we that the LORD God should come down to our level out of love to give us the chance of intimate union with him? And yet all he asks is that we deny ourselves, pick up our Cross and follow him.
Yes indeed, God became man!
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Finding God in Hockey
This can be applied to all sports and live entertainment.
Imagine 56.8 seconds left in third and you're down by one and your team gets the puck and screams down the ice towards the offensive goal. This is one of those tense moments in such a fantastic game! But, have you ever let go and let whatever happens happen? These tense moments in the game are opportunities to look to the heavens exclaiming, "Thy will be done!"
Or how about when the opposing team is ganging up on your defense and you know they're but moments away from stealing another goal. Surely your hands are curled into fists as you lean into the TV screen barely daring to utter a breath in the hopes that if you're absolutely still that some how they won't score. Well, this is another opportunity to glace to the Throne and in your honest heart do you plea, "Father, thy will be done."
At this point you find that you're loosening up and it seems no great tragedy should that team indeed score a goal. Surely God has other plans, other wins in mind? You then take begin to take notice of the vicious hits, the blood and anguished cusses thrown across the board. Your heart then begins to suffer as you stand in their shoes realising that it's more than a game and that these people are real. Not wishing anything to be wasted therefore, silently offer up their sufferings to God, that he might have mercy on them.
Then comes intermission, which means a 20 minutes communion with God. Hit mute and grab your Bible and see how far you can get before the game returns. Or, you can bow your head in silence, listening to Almighty God. Perhaps you might even reply, "Gee God, did you see that goal?"
You might -having been granted the grace of the Spirit- note how that hockey game reflects your own life. Sometimes you don't see the puck coming, or how if you paused for a moment or moved just in the right direction you could have gotten an interception. You could note also that this battle is like that of sin vs. Spirit, or even how God blesses both the righteous and the unrighteous.
Then come the snacks. Give thanks and praise to God for His perfect Providence, arranging things so that you would have just the right sustenance for the game. Along with your drink and snack, you can reflect on the living water and the living bread that Christ has given you. Naturally, you would proceed onward to reflect on the Passion of the Christ, as well as everlasting life.
Finally, whether your team wins or loses, you know that God is always with you, and that he will never leave you nor forsake you. To win is like walking through the valley in the shadow of death, comforted by Thy rod and Thy staff. You know what I mean, those boys are gonna get a hard reproof and correction from the Coach. And should they win? Well, that's no different than finally getting to the top of the mountain and seeing the Holy City far off in the distance.
What about the Stanley Cup? "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow is the road that leads to life, and only a few find it."
Grace be unto you therefore, and peace be multiplied!
Imagine 56.8 seconds left in third and you're down by one and your team gets the puck and screams down the ice towards the offensive goal. This is one of those tense moments in such a fantastic game! But, have you ever let go and let whatever happens happen? These tense moments in the game are opportunities to look to the heavens exclaiming, "Thy will be done!"
Or how about when the opposing team is ganging up on your defense and you know they're but moments away from stealing another goal. Surely your hands are curled into fists as you lean into the TV screen barely daring to utter a breath in the hopes that if you're absolutely still that some how they won't score. Well, this is another opportunity to glace to the Throne and in your honest heart do you plea, "Father, thy will be done."
At this point you find that you're loosening up and it seems no great tragedy should that team indeed score a goal. Surely God has other plans, other wins in mind? You then take begin to take notice of the vicious hits, the blood and anguished cusses thrown across the board. Your heart then begins to suffer as you stand in their shoes realising that it's more than a game and that these people are real. Not wishing anything to be wasted therefore, silently offer up their sufferings to God, that he might have mercy on them.
Then comes intermission, which means a 20 minutes communion with God. Hit mute and grab your Bible and see how far you can get before the game returns. Or, you can bow your head in silence, listening to Almighty God. Perhaps you might even reply, "Gee God, did you see that goal?"
You might -having been granted the grace of the Spirit- note how that hockey game reflects your own life. Sometimes you don't see the puck coming, or how if you paused for a moment or moved just in the right direction you could have gotten an interception. You could note also that this battle is like that of sin vs. Spirit, or even how God blesses both the righteous and the unrighteous.
Then come the snacks. Give thanks and praise to God for His perfect Providence, arranging things so that you would have just the right sustenance for the game. Along with your drink and snack, you can reflect on the living water and the living bread that Christ has given you. Naturally, you would proceed onward to reflect on the Passion of the Christ, as well as everlasting life.
Finally, whether your team wins or loses, you know that God is always with you, and that he will never leave you nor forsake you. To win is like walking through the valley in the shadow of death, comforted by Thy rod and Thy staff. You know what I mean, those boys are gonna get a hard reproof and correction from the Coach. And should they win? Well, that's no different than finally getting to the top of the mountain and seeing the Holy City far off in the distance.
What about the Stanley Cup? "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow is the road that leads to life, and only a few find it."
Grace be unto you therefore, and peace be multiplied!
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