Out of Sight, Out of Mind

As I was looking for an idea to write this week’s article about, I came across a news article where the New York State Governor was cautioning people about COVID.  I wondered, “isn’t the pandemic a thing of the past?  When are we going to move on?”. 

I did take the time to look at the article.  For New York State, the latest COVID numbers show the number of recent cases remain far below the numbers from two years ago but are double that of last year.  Hum…do we have reason to be concerned?  The numbers are still pretty small.

I haven’t prayed about COVID on any regular basis in quite a while.  Should I be?  I came to the conclusion that maybe I don’t need to be praying specifically about COVID but perhaps remember to include a broader intention in my prayers against the spread of illness in general.  It could include things like COVID but also other communicable diseases and for us to take appropriate precautions.

I invite you to offer a similar intention.  We need to pray for all people to do their part to limit the spread of communicable diseases.

From this I began to ask myself what other items that I had been praying for that I dropped that still should be in my prayers.  What is still going on in the world that may not be in the news enough to remind me to pray about it?

Did you hear that in its continuing attacks against Ukraine, Russia hit a civilian hospital with missiles this weekend?  Did you think these attacks had stopped?  We hear far less about them in the news.  We hear about it when our U.S. Congress is asked for more funding for Ukraine or when there is an attack like this one against a “noteworthy site.”  Note-worthy?  It’s my word but it bothers me.  What constitutes noteworthy?  A hospital does because it is supposed to be a place of healing, not death and injury.  Yet isn’t every attack noteworthy in that it goes against peace?

We need to pray for an end to the attacks between Russian and Ukraine.

Then, there is the continuing conflict between Israel and Hamas.  This has moved away from the front stage but remains in the news.  With it not at the front of the news, I must admit I have been praying less about it.  I need to pray more.  This is not simply to pray for an end to the attacks.  This situation is much bigger than what started on October 7^th of last year.  This is a part of a long conflict between Israel and other indigenous people.  Why do I stress “indigenous”?  Israel has a claim to the land that goes back to Abraham.  The other people involved have ancestral heritage there just as long.  When are we all going to get along?  What does it even mean to get along? It does not mean to ignore our differences.

I wonder how many other conflicts are ongoing in the world.  Are you aware of fighting in Africa?

We need to pray for all of us to find ways to live together in peace.  Each person is a child of God and deserves to be treated with the dignity they are given, created in the image of God.  This applies regardless of how they see themselves or what religion they practice.

What else do we need to be praying for?  How about abortion?  I hope no one things that the Dobbs decision by the U.S. Supreme Court that overturned Roe v. Wade ended any concern over abortion.  It did not.  Returning the right to restrict abortion to the states has brought more court cases as states update their laws.  Some states are trying to end all abortions while others try to enshrine in their constitutions.  For example, there is a ballot measure in the works for this year in New York State to enshrine abortion in the state constitution as a right.  There are also states continuing efforts to legalize assisted suicide. 

Everyone is trying to get their way without discussing the real issue, life.  The legal battles have their importance.  I am more concerned with what is in people’s hearts.  We need to help people understand why these actions against life are immoral.

We need to pray for respect for all life and an end to all acts against life.

Now I turn to something you can’t miss in the U.S. news right now.  It is an election year.  Are you praying about the election?  We might all want to pray that it would be over but we know that the “politics” will not automatically end when the election is over.  I think what we most need to pray for is an end to the polarization that is becoming extreme that makes real dialogue seem impossible.  Everyone is sure they are right but conflicting opinions can’t all be right.  There is truth.  It is the truth we seek.  God is the author of that truth.

We need to pray to pray that we allow seek a common path to God’s truth. 

I could probably find more to add here but I think you probably get the point.  We need to pray to God “thy will be done.”

Peace,

Fr. Jeff