The Roots of  Violence, by Vincent P. Miceli, S.J.  Roman Catholic Books. 2000.

Jesus said, "Put back your sword, for all those who take the sword will perish by the sword".  Mt.26:52

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Flames of violence are the atmosphere the world is experiencing today. Where can humans be assured of safety? Pope John  Paul ll was gunned down; the president of the United States was killed by a bullet.

In Cairo a statesman was  assassinated.  Innocent children are murdered in their mothers' wombs.  Many have constructed underground hiding places to escape violence. Is violence a way of life? Why?

Nuclear warfare was not the worst form of violence. Meeting it on the streets every day is worse. It comes so unexpectedly in kidnapping, highjacking, brutality, vandalism, massacres against persons and whole nations. Is the story of Cain in Genesis being repeated all over again as brother kills brother? Is it the fault of gangs? Of persons bored with life?   Has the present generation lost all respect for life? Is God disappointed with the human beings he made in the beginning? Is God ready to destroy the earth like he did Sodom and Gomrrah?  

Micelli explains to his readers the roots from which violence sprouts, namely lies, lust, envy, anger, avarice, vengeance, barbarism, and terrorism. In each of the chapters on these topics, Micelli names other vices from which these roots develop. He begins with truth and its opposite  which is telling lies. If humans deviate from truth and make a habit of lies, they are preparing for a life of violence. Every act of untruth gives the person "permission"  to accept violence as a way of life.

Using examples such as the Holocaust, X-rated movies, wars, Sadism, pornography, Zionist terrorism,  and other atrocities, the author eventually comes to a chapter entitled "The Christian Answer to Violence" and gives antidotes to alleviate the horrors of violence.

Jesus drew a line between divine truth and human truth when He presented the Sermon on the Mount.  "The truth shall make you free." "Conquer your enemy with deeds of love." "Forgive, even seventy times." "Refrain from evil thoughts and deeds."  "Love your neighbor as yourself." 

(Thanks to Sr. Irene Hartman OP for this review.)



Registration is now open for the 2013-14 session of SpiritLife, which is sponsored by Heartland Center for Spirituality in Great Bend, KS. Friday night accommodations are available for those who would like to come in a day early.

See http://heartlandspirituality.org/spiritlife for more information about the program and registration.

SpiritLife  presentations are also available online, but for personal enrichment only.

- http://shalomplace.com/inetmin/spiritlife/

St. Peter Chrysologus (406-50): July 30

A man who vigorously pursues a goal may produce results far beyond his expectations and his intentions. Thus it was with Peter of the Golden Words, as he was called, who as a young man became bishop of Ravenna, the capital of the empire in the West.

At the time there were abuses and vestiges of paganism evident in his diocese, and these he was determined to battle and overcome. His principal weapon was the short sermon, and many of them have come down to us. They do not contain great originality of thought. They are, however, full of moral applications, sound in doctrine and historically significant in that they reveal Christian life in fifth-century Ravenna. So authentic were the contents of his sermons that, some 13 centuries later, he was declared a doctor of the Church by Pope Benedict XIII. He who had earnestly sought to teach and motivate his own flock was recognized as a teacher of the universal Church.

In addition to his zeal in the exercise of his office, Peter Chrysologus was distinguished by a fierce loyalty to the Church, not only in its teaching, but in its authority as well. He looked upon learning not as a mere opportunity but as an obligation for all, both as a development of God-given faculties and as a solid support for the worship of God.

Some time before his death, St. Peter returned to Imola, his birthplace, where he died around A.D. 450.