Evil Exists

 Pax Christi pulls me one way--nonviolence.  But, damn it!  It's just not reality.  Read Genesis.  

Evil exists and you can't avoid it, sometimes, unless you violently smack it down.  Think Hitler, et el.

When Donald Trump was shot, it brought to mind other assassinations.  They are not just political, think of President Reagan's attempted assassination.  John Hinckley shot at the president to impress an actress.  Lincoln's, was political and stupid.  The president who held the country together was shot for doing just that.

IOW, there's no accounting for evil.  Because evil is irrational, humans have to be prepared for the worst, hope for the best, but not be naive about it.  Even Eden had evil in it.

Introducing Pax Christi Massachusetts

This is my group.

Pax Christi, USA

Pax Christi
Repent, Return, Restore
For the past few years, Pax Christi USA has prayed, fasted, and acted to end the war in Iraq as part of their Lent. With the change in the government administration, Pax Christ is adjusting to the new environment. First is to make sure President Obama follows through on his promise to end the war in Iraq. Hence, Pax Christi posts resources for prayer, study and action, each week during Lent, on its website. The theme is "Repent, Return, Restore." http://www.paxchristiusa.org/news_Events_more.asp?id=1507

Here is their Lenten prayer:

O God of peace:
Let our nation return to the ways of God,
the ways of justice and mercy,
so absent in the vengeance and greed
which drove the decision to invade and occupy Iraq.
Let us fast and repent of torture, violence, extraordinary rendition,
the employment of mercenary forces like Blackwater,
and let us return to our belief in the rule of law,
the practice of diplomacy, and the desire for peace.
Let us weep for all those who have suffered on both sides,
all those lives irrevocably broken by the violence of this war.
And let us mourn the dead— our nearly 5,000 soldiers
and the hundreds of thousands of Iraqis,
mothers and fathers, brothers, sisters, husbands, wives and children.
Let our hearts break and our souls wail for all those who have been lost to us.
And finally, dear God, let our troops return home
and let us return Iraq to its people,
supporting them in rebuilding and reconstructing their devastated nation.
During this season of Lent, this will be our prayer,
supported and deepened by our fasting and action:
No more war in Iraq. No war! Never again! Amen.