by Sr. Sheila Campbell MMM                                           Ireland                          27.10.2024

Each day I wake up listening to the radio. News bulletins come on each 30 minutes and then there are the longer programmes where the day’s happenings are gone over in more detail. Aren’t there times when you wish you could stick your head in the sand and forget all about the atrocities going on in our world?
I remember during “The Troubles” in Northern Ireland my parents in Belfast became news junkies too. I wonder does it really help to be so addicted to this living vicariously the tragedies of others. How do we draw the balance? How do we be present to the reality of our times without being overwhelmed by it? I wish I had an easy answer.
For me, one thing that helps is going back to our Benedictine spirituality. St. Benedict founded his monasteries in a time of civil turmoil too. The Benedictine motto of “Peace” and the emphasis on stability helps ground me when the going gets tough.
The Rule encourages us to develop the following qualities – humility, patience, simplicity, solitude, caring for others, and living in community – concern for everyone. It is a recipe for a simple, balanced and prayerful life. We do not cut ourselves off from our society, but we are not swallowed up by it too.
I also remind myself that there is a lot of good things happening too – but they do not hit the headlines. We all know people who visit the sick and the lonely, care for elderly relatives, volunteer in food banks and charity shops. Then there are the fund-raisers for charitable causes, the people who work quietly behind the scenes – we all know them.
So today, when tragic events are occurring, let’s stop for a moment and remember all the simple quiet ways people promote peace and good will among their fellow human beings. Let us say “yes” to collaborating in this quiet way and be ambassadors of peace in our troubled world.