Holding to our faith

On this last full day of Lent, we all struggle to hold on to our Christian values.  In the wake of the terrorist attacks in Belgium, our natural human reaction is to attack back hard and fast.  Terrorism is called terrorism precisely because of its ability to engender fear. In the last 24 hrs we have heard that fear given voice from the cries of the people of Belgium to our own politicians.  Today all our hearts turn to our Belgian brothers and sisters who morn.

As we prepare to move into the holiest days of the year, whatever our emotional reaction, we must hold fast to our Christian values.  As Catholics we believe in the right of self defense, but we do not believe that end justifies the means.  We cannot allow fear to cause us to throw aside our Christian principles and values in the misguided believe that it is the only way to defeat terrorism. 

As Christians, we are always people of hope, and we are also people who believe that when we are fighting true evil we are not alone. As the psalmist reminds us

A king is not saved by a great army, nor a warrior delivered by great strength.

The only way terrorists can truly win is if they get us to abandon our Christian values and imitate them. We can simultaneously remain Christian and win.

Over the next four days we will celebrate the greatest victory in the history of the world. Why should be fear? Why should we doubt? Why should we wavier at all from the core values of the gospel?