WE NEED COURAGE OF CONVICTION

St Charles Lwanga and companions.  Thursday 4th June, 2020

This feast day of the African martyrs once again brings to the fore the courage of conviction that many possess. It is remarkable for any human to stand up and be counted to the point of death for belief. I was reminded of the Downside Abbey Benedictine monk, Dom Gervase Hobson Matthews, who accompanied a convent of nuns to Dunkirk. They boarded a ship to get to England. He was offered a place on board but realised it was his duty to go back to his company of soldiers. He was killed shortly afterward. 

Also I recall the story of the shell shocked soldier of the First Great War. He was lost, suffered amnesia, had third degree burns so was unidentifiable and was unable to remember who he was....he survived the war but his lost memory, his utterly altered face and loss of identity papers etc meant he never knew who he was nor ever met any possible family and lived in that state for many years. It took immense courage: in fact it is at times more courageous to live than to die.

A friend of my Father who suffered under the Japanese in the Second World War once said to me: " I most often do not have the courage to recall as it was too horrifying and lives with me every day and every night". Such are the trauma that many live with..many unknown courageous people. 

Gregory Boyle wrote :" It would seem that, quite possibly, the ultimate measure of the health of a community might well reside in our ability to stand in awe of what folks have to carry rather than in judgement at how they carry it." It is hard as a person of privilege, with a happy childhood, good health and a much enjoyed career and life to realise the hell people live in daily.

This came especially to mind when I noticed the announcement of a new lead in the abduction of Madeleine McCann in May 2007. It recalled to me the horror of the event and the unfolding of the investigation, the suspicions and the lack of progress. In my mind's eye I can see the anguish on the faces of her parents who themselves were under suspicion for a while. How can anyone bear such pain, yet many do? Thousands of children disappear each year globally. 

I am not sure how much one can help another who suffers. A doctor or nurse can relieve suffering, food can help the hungry and accommodation the homeless, but anguish, loss, fear, how do we lighten them? We can listen, be there, offer help and try to comfort and I am sure that all helps. It helps more if the suffering person knows others care...in my few moments of pain it certainly has comforted me. 

During an interview with a protestor in the George Floyd murder events  he quoted Mother Teresa of Calcutta who said that we have just" forgotten that we belong to each other". 

Surely the protests and demonstrations, the pandemic should bring this oneness of humanity to the fore. Mankind has united at times in reaction to major natural disasters and that coming together is a real possibility. Why do we remain so divided, caring for our own interests, for united we stand, divided we fall.

We need courage of conviction.