83 My Monologues & Musings : International Nonviolence Day
Oh, God of Love and Peace,
You want us and You wish us to be Peace Loving and Nonviolent to each other,
Don't You?
But ever since the days of Cain and Abel we have been violent to ourselves and to one another.
Our selfishness, our greed, our lust for wealth, power, and pleasure have been driving us to be violent with our own fellow humans.
Violently, we quarrel.
Violently we fight over land, religion, and race.
We fret over and fight over imagined or real injustice of every sort.
We fasily believe violence is the easiest and surest means to rectify the wrongs done to us.
Yet every real religion and faith exhorts us to eschew hate and to shun violence.
But even in the name of these religions we keep fighting with vengeance and violence!
Oh, God of Peace and Harmony,
It is so easy to reflect and talk in terms of "We" and "Our / Us" and comfort ourselves.
But, Lord,
When i look into me,
I find in myself a strong tendency to be violent.
My first memory of serious violent behavior goes back to my school days. In early teens, once a bullying fellow student provoked into a fistfight.
I hit him with my aluminium tiffin box on his left cheekbone.
His cheek turned black and blue.
He and his father came to my home and complained to my father.
Reluctantly I had to ask pardon and make up.
Though initially feeling proud of having stood up to him, later on I felt bad.
I still remember the incident with mixed feelings!
Now being a near seventy year old priest,
I hardly engage in violent behaviors and actions.
But, I am often prone to give went to verbal violence.
The most distressing fact about myself is :
I tend to entertain thoughts of violence and violent reactions.
I love to fuel the fire and the stock the flame of violent and vengeful thoughts against any and everyone who opposes me. Outwardly, I tend to pretend to be gentle and polite.
But deep within me, the there is a part in me seething with violent thoughts!
How miserable, I am at times!
Dear Jesus, Lord of Peace and Harmony!
I want to be at peace with myself accepting that a part of me which loves violent thoughts.
I want to tackle these thoughts, deal with them as and when they haunt me.
I want to transform them into thoughts of Peace and Nonviolence.
I want to be inspired by you!
I want to be encouraged by the message of Non-Violence preached and practised by Mahatma Gandhi ( M. K. Gandhi), the apostle of Nonviolence of modern India, my motherland!
It is in honor of him the world observes today as
The International Day of Nonviolence.
May all those against whom I harbour violent thoughts,
May they be blessed!
May my heart overflow with the thoughts of Nonviolence and Peace!
Amen
JoAchen
Friday, October 2nd, 2015
Joachenmonologues@gmail.com
Dear Reader,
These Reflections are a part of my healing process as a Prodigal Son and as a Priest. They are a part of my journaling as i keep trying to return to the Home of my Heavenly Father. I am glad to share with you.
T
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