The story echos one that appeared in the Washington Post earlier this year. A message in a bottle that traveled 3,200 miles helped heal a Maryland boy’s grief
I knew I had to write something about the escalating violence in our culture.
Then, as if discovering a bottle with a message, I found a truly prophetic document published by the U.S. Catholic Bishops more than a quarter-century ago.
In this Vincentian Mindwalk, I invite you to make your own judgment about how prophetic it was then … and still should be.
Consider these quotes from over a quarter of a century ago
Our families are torn by violence. Our communities are destroyed by violence. Our faith is tested by violence. We have an obligation to respond.
Violence — in our homes, our schools and streets, our nation and world — is destroying the lives, dignity and hopes of millions of our sisters and brothers.
Fear of violence is paralyzing and polarizing our communities.
The celebration of violence in much of our media, music and even video games is poisoning our children.
Hostility, hatred, despair and indifference are at the heart of a growing culture of violence.
Verbal violence in our families, communications and talk shows contribute to this culture of violence.
Our social fabric is being torn apart by a culture of violence that leaves children dead on our streets and families afraid in our homes. Our society seems to be growing numb to human loss and suffering.
A nation born in a commitment to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” is haunted by death, imprisoned by fear and caught up in the elusive pursuit of protection rather than happiness.
It doesn’t have to be this way
It wasn’t always this way. We can turn away from violence; we can build communities of greater peace. It begins with a clear conviction: respect for life.
Respect for life is not just a slogan or a program; it is a fundamental moral principle flowing from our teaching on the dignity of the human person. It is an approach to life that values people over things.
Respect for life must guide the choices we make as individuals and as a society: what we do and won’t do, what we value and consume, whom we admire and whose example we follow, what we support and what we oppose.
Respect for human life is the starting point for confronting a culture of violence. The Catholic community cannot ignore the moral and human costs of so much violence in our midst.
A call to conversion and framework for action
These brief reflections are a call to conversion and a framework for action. They propose neither a sweeping plan nor specific programs.
They recognize the impressive efforts already underway in dioceses, parishes and schools. They offer a word of support and gratitude for those already engaged in these efforts.
We believe the Catholic community brings strong convictions and vital experience which can enrich the national dialogue on how best to overcome the violence that is tearing our nation apart.
Talk is not enough
Words cannot stop weapons; statements will not contain hatred.
Yet commitment and conversion can change us and together we can change our culture and communities.
Person by person, family by family, neighborhood by neighborhood, we must take our communities back from the evil and fear that come with so much violence.
We believe our faith in Jesus Christ gives us the values, vision and hope that can bring an important measure of peace to our hearts, our homes, and our streets.
Part two continues with a framework for action.
Click below for an early audio version of this Vincentian Mindwalk
Yes, we need to do our best on “all fronts”.
I remember in 2021, as I mentioned once in a comment section, when I literally was verbally attacked by two of my neighbors one living in the apartment at the left of my door and the other one at the right side.
I even found out that someone, maybe one of them (since what I am writing here happened after these “attacks”), had me “kind of registered” in the opposite political party of mine.
I’m throwing away that correspondence but in order “to calm down” the ocean of invectives from these two Christian women, my neighbors, of a different denomination than R. Catholic, I hung the “Social Friendship” that you, Fr. John, had posted in a Mindwalk (I think) and the hippie’s sign of Peace.
Thank God, that did a GREAT job!
No more assaults and actually I have people in the building who see these two symbols hanging outside my door, with the words of the poster Social Friendship, thanking me for my “idea”.
There are children who go by our apartment door and I hope that they are curious enough to check this strange display and stop to read the flyer on Social Friendship.
A family with children, from the floor above ours, is of Chinese origin and they started greeting me not only with their classic “good manners” but, now, they almost started smiling when they see me.
So, a “small step” but peace with my two neighbors came back. One thing that worked, I guess.
When I reflected on the image you chose for this reflection, I marveled at the hope that enters the bottle along with the message on the piece of paper. We have seen how harsh the ocean waters can be – ripping ships and other vessels to shreds with violent waves – yet a bottle made of one of the most fragile of substances survives.
Many of the bishops from 25 years ago who put together that message are likely still alive. I choose to believe that their intentions were authentic in their regard for the dignity of human life in all its forms and a need to extend care beyond our limited selves to all those who make up the Body of Christ, wherever They might be. The public offerings from the Conference of Bishops since then have taken on less idealistic goals and digressed into one-issue messages, messages falling on ears hardened to that message because they fail to align with the lived experiences of the intended audience. Many of us have learned to keep an open ear to the USCCB but the days of lock-step adherence to their vocalizations seem to be on the decline.
Back to that message in the bottle, I am reminded of when I hear a new recording by a current artist of a “standard” made popular 20, 30, 40 or 50 years or more ago. Generally, I long for the original, but I learned in recent months that most of the “original” versions were themselves “covers” made by artists of the day of even older tunes. However, many modern “covers” add a dimension to the song that was either not present in the original or hidden too deeply to be appreciated.
I long for the bishops to re-release an album of their greatest hits and motivate us to get engaged in what makes us better people, better Christians and better Catholics. If they do, perhaps they’ll be mindful of the vulnerability of that glass bottle and take great care to ensure the medium can transport the message into our hearts, minds and souls. Many folks are aching to return to the community of “church” but need that message to touch them and let them feel welcome again (or perhaps, for the first time).