Lighting the Way to Interfaith Peace

Our faith calls us to warmly accept those we encounter in our lives from different faiths. While this is our reality in Catholicism, current U.S.policy and public sentiment show alarming increases in anti-Muslim activity, and many hate crimes in America target Jews. More than ever before, we need to stand up for and practice religious tolerance as individuals, in our parishes, and in our countries.

Each year, January 1 marks World Day of Peace, which is fitting since New Year’s Day is traditionally devoted to personal reflection, renewal, and adopting resolutions to do better. Peace in the modern world has never been easy, intuitive, or inevitable. And it appears to be ever more fragile and challenging to build in a world rife with acts of terrorism and political tensions.Challenging, but not impossible. In Where Do We GoFrom Here: Chaos or Community?  Martin Luther King,Jr., advocates that opposing forces have the potential to infer change—light drives out darkness and love deters hate. Jesus and the Scriptures are the driving lights of our faith, which have the power to inspire and inform as well as provide spiritual direction and hope on our paths.

by Carole St. Laurent