Mass of healing would be helpful
Last Updated on Friday, 24 August 2012 11:33 16 August 2012
I appreciate our diocese's gesture of celebrating a special Mass in honor of the men and woman who have and are serving in the U.S. military. I have great respect for these men and women who have risked their lives for the hope of a greater good. (Read more here)
I am left to wonder, however, if as a Church we ought to do a better job with helping our veterans grieve, as Christians, the many losses they have endured in their experience of war. I think of St. Martin of Tours, St. Francis of Assisi, St. Ignatius of Loyola, the centurion in Matt 27:54, and other holy people who grappled with the moral dilemmas of war.
Military sources are now reporting that there are more deaths of soldiers by suicide than by combat fatalities, not to mention the staggering number of cases of post-tramatic stress disorder. Might we have a Mass to promote inner healing and communal lament, walking the road with our soldiers returning from war, rather than suggesting that the waging of war is somehow a form of living the values of the Kingdom of God?
Linda Flynn lives in Charlotte.
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Lives of the Saints
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RESOURCES
- Read the Catechism in a year: A little to read every day, emailed each morning during the Year of Faith
- USCCB: Stories, videos and more about the Year of Faith
- Annusfidei.va: Vatican's Year of Faith website
- Catholic Relief Services: Features and stories about Year of Faith
- My Year of Faith App: Daily prayers, reflections and thoughts
- Video Catechism for Teens: A free online resource for youths and young adults
- Weekly video series: “C4: Ignite Your Catholic Faith”
- OnceCatholic.org: Geared for people who have left their Catholic faith
- Explore the Sacraments: An 8-part video series on the Sacraments
FROM THE PASTORS
Read and listen to homilies posted regularly by pastors at parishes within the Diocese of Charlotte:
- Fr. Frank Cancro at Queen of the Apostles
- Fr. Patrick Earl at St. Peter in Charlotte
- Fr. John Eckert at St. John the Baptist in Tryon
- Fr. Timothy Reid at St. Ann in Charlotte
- Fr. Benjamin Roberts at Our Lady of Lourdes in Monroe
- Fr. Patrick Winslow at St. Thomas Aquinas in Charlotte
- Watch full Masses live and on demand, listen to homilies and reflections from Sacred Heart Church in Salisbury
- Listen to homilies from St. William Catholic Church in Murphy
