As American policymakers
debated military intervention in Syria, Cardinal Donald W. Wuerl joined
Pope Francis and Catholics around the world in calling for peace and a
just solution to the violence that has wracked the country and other
parts of the world. "Today we pray for those who are a part of our human
family and who endure terrible acts of violence. We also invoke God's
blessings on those who strive to contain violence around the world,"
Cardinal Wuerl said during a special Mass September 7 at the Basilica of the
National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. "We ask God to give all
of us the strength to walk in the light of God's love and that we might
be true agents of human solidarity, justice and true peace." The Mass
was one of dozens of liturgies and prayer services across the U.S. in
response to Pope Francis' call for a day of prayer and fasting for peace
in Syria, the Middle East and throughout the world. "As an expression
of solidarity with all the victims who suffer, especially the children,
particularly in Syria but throughout the Middle East, we raise our
voices in supplication for peace and reconciliation," Cardinal Wuerl
said during his homily.
Born during the turbulent era of the French Revolution, Saint Jeanne Jugan rose above hardship and a lack of formal schooling to become a profound vessel of Christ’s mercy. After losing her father at a young age and working through her youth as a kitchen maid and nurse, her life radically changed one freezing night when she encountered a blind, paralyzed elderly woman with nowhere to go. Jeanne carried the woman back to her own home, placed her in her own bed, and began a lifelong mission of radical hospitality. This act of profound love blossomed into the Little Sisters of the Poor , a thriving community dedicated to sheltering and honoring the destitute elderly. Despite later facing heavy trials—including being unjustly sidelined and stripped of her leadership by a controlling chaplain—Jeanne accepted her obscurity and exile with a joyful spirit, resting her complete trust in God's hidden providence until her death in 1879. In our daily lives, Saint Jeanne Jugan invites us to lo...