Violence is rooted in an absence of God in our lives

I take this opportunity to wish each of our readers a very joyful Easter and Easter season. We recall that God so loved the world that he sent his only Son to redeem the world. Christ’s love was made manifest in the most perfect way as he sacrificed himself on the cross. 

Easter can remain a part of our life through our openness to delve into the profound meaning of the Gospels, of Jesus’ own words which he verified through the mystery of His Cross and Resurrection. People of faith are people who remember that the very love of God is renewed for us each day in the Eucharist with the Lord’s body and blood, his self-sacrifice and in the truth of His word.  

As we are called to “remember” it is obvious that our secular world has “forgotten” or has amnesia regarding God’s love and presence.

It is enough to acknowledge the unprecedented wave of violence that is made manifest before our eyes in so many ways. Beginning with life in the womb, violence threatens life at its very conception. The list seems endless:  child abuse and violence in the family, street and gang violence, violence in schools and in public venues, a mere lack of civility among peoples-even to the point of violence in the name of religion. 

We are witnessing in our time brothers and sisters in faith becoming martyrs for their faith. For them, our thoughts are constant, our prayers are daily.

Have you ever asked, “What is the root of violence and why is violence so alive today? Psychology will give a variety of answers:  learned by behavior, pent-up emotion, lack of education and the experience of injustice.  

But let us not delude ourselves. “Violence is an absence.” Violence is rooted in an absence of God. Violence is the absence of the redeeming word of Jesus Christ in peoples’ lives, creating a darkness that overshadows human dignity.  

Throughout the year, we proclaim the Gospel of Jesus that tells us: “turn the other cheek,” “love your enemies,” “forgive them they know not what they do,” “if someone asks you to go a mile, go two.” These words of Jesus, while challenging and counter-cultural, are a light for every human person to draw their hearts to God. When these words are not present in one’s life, violence will have the upper hand. 

The new cardinal of Bangkok, Cardinal Francis Xavier Kriengsak Kovithavanij recently said in an interview “Secularism is the new way the devil presents himself in the modern world.” Secularism is the absence of God. It looks at the world purely from a human point of view. And relations on a human point of view can only look after themselves. And thus we have an increase of individualism; the “me” society, the gratification society, the protective society of all that is “mine.” 

Brothers and sisters, as Christ’s disciples, as his missionary disciples, we must evangelize others, first by our own example. Let us not look at the world through the dark lens of hopelessness, but let us live our life in light of Christ’s Resurrection. Good will always win out over evil, but if good people do nothing then evil will have the upper hand. 

Let us not give in to secularism. Let us be careful in what we say. Let us be prudent where we go. Let us be careful at what we look at and what we talk about. We should ask ourselves: “Do our thoughts, words and deeds portray us as people given to this age (secularists) or as children of God?”

At the beginning of Mass, as we ask forgiveness we say, “I have sinned against you in thought, word and deed.” Sin is the absence of God.  Therefore, if we want to break the tidal-wave of violence, we must begin with ourselves.  Daily, let us ask forgiveness for our conformity to a secular mentality, a mentality where God is not present.

May this Easter season be a new beginning for us to eradicate violence from our own selves, from our speech, our thoughts, our actions and what we see, so that the Prince of Peace may find in us zealous missionaries of peace.