BEING CLOSE TO THE PEOPLE REGARDLESS OF THEIR NATIONALTY IN WAR (Constitution 8)
We will always be close to the people with whom we work, taking into account their values and aspirations.
Constitution 8
In the midst of a war with Austria which France had won, the old Bishop Eugene ministered to the injured of both sides of the conflict. In moving words, he wrote:
I officiated pontifically. It was at the end of the High Mass that we sang, sadly, the Te Deum as requested. How is it possible to rejoice over a heap of dead bodies, over so much blood shed for such a bad cause!
Therefore, after the Te Deum, I added prayers for peace and I recited in a loud voice the Fidelium animae per misericordiam Dei requiescant in pace. I had, beforehand, had the intention of offering the indulgence of the Mass just celebrated for the poor souls of the French and Austrians who were sacrificed on the battlefield.
My heart was so weighed down at the thought of so many victims, that I sought some relief by fulfilling a paternal duty of charity and by going to visit the wounded from both nations who have been brought to our military hospital. The inspiration proved to be good.
All those interesting young men were singularly touched by my visit. I approached the bed of each one and showed a lively interest in them. The Austrians, whose faith is more demonstrative, took my hand to kiss it. I could have willingly kissed their faces so strongly did I feel their catholicity which made them so dear to me.
The sight of one of these wounded men whom I had before me filled my heart with compassion and sadness; and these men, with one exception, had only lesser wounds, or least not life threatening. What must be, I thought, the sight of those thousands of men terribly mutilated piled up in heaps of corpses? What an awful sight! Is it not sufficient to make one curse all wars and even more so those undertaken as this one of today, under such vain pretexts and for such a detestable cause!
Diary, 12 June 1859, EO XXII
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This morning’s reflection hits the very heart of what is happening not only around the world, but also here at home, in our own backyards and even more closely in our hearts.
This is where it starts, fear within our hearts that we have been wronged, and how quickly that fear seems to transform our hearts from love to self-feeding anger and hatred. What starts out very small and personal can overtake us in a heart beat.
It is Eugene’s closing words in his diary notes which capture so clearly what wars can be about: “It is not sufficient to make one curse all wars and even more so those undertaken as the one of today under such vain pretexts and for such a detestable cause!” The cause of the war that he speaks of may well be fueled by a lack of trust in God and God’s love. It certainly resonates in our world today…
I do not know a lot about politics or world economics, but I have experienced enough to recognize that to “respond with love” is more life-giving than to “react out of fear”. Sometimes I have to work really hard to make the decision to keep loving with ‘hope in communion’ rather than giving in to something that is empty and deadly.