Reflecting on Current Concern for Humanity After Recent Acts of Violence
By FRANCESCA SASIN
After the recent acts of political and religious violence that shook our country, University President Dr. Mary Finger suggested a response from Seton Hill University. There was a Mass held for “Peace and Justice,” designated by the administration, on Thursday September 18, at 4:00 PM in St. Joseph Chapel. The mass consisted of an engaged, modest crowd of mostly staff and faculty, with a few students in attendance, and special guests such as the Finger.
It was similar to a Sunday Mass, a Holy Mass, but with a solemnity that conveyed the audiences’ attention to what Seton Hill had to say in this time of need. Finger gave the introduction, as Father Statnick gave his homilies, and there were two student speakers, Richard Ratliff and Abigail Veychek.
Michael Long worked alongside Tony Krzmarzick, the Director of Campus Ministry, to plan the Liturgy, illustrated the room’s climate, explaining, “I thought people were very concerned. The folks that came have a concern for violence in our country right now, especially whether it be political or politically driven.” He went on to list the recent church tragedies that were so specifically “devastating” because there is “no rationale, no reasoning for that.”
“Such a violent reaction to a non-violent gathering of people. And we’re exposed to that, almost maybe numb to it, because we hear it so much that you kind of expect to wake up for the week or the day and ‘where’s the next act of violence in our society?’ that people have come to just expect it as a normal, everyday event, which it should not be.”
In our exhaustion and vulnerability, it is not only physical violence that is normalized, but “rhetorical violence” as labeled by Krzmarzick.
Long shared “So much in our society, I think that if you just shout it out loud and you repeat it a couple of times, that makes it ‘correct.’ That’s not necessarily the case at all. You know, we always have to remember that Jesus did not come as a warrior. Jesus came as a child, a baby, an infant.”
“Sometimes people say some of the most horrendous and horrific things, and they don’t think twice about it.” Long said.
These acts of violence have become too normalized, too common, that we have begun to lose hope. Safety has been compromised. Monsignor Roger Statnick, who, extemporaneously, gave his homily address, described the gathering as “apprehensive” regarding our current world, and felt they were “seeking some kind of way of dealing with this thing that isn’t just partisan or contentious or aggravated.”
There is difficulty in finding safe refuge today, and Father Statnick expressed “That’s part of what a religious position and a religious tradition in our culture should be doing today, it’s giving a place where people can feel.” It would promote a feeling of safety. Unfortunately, he also recognized “that sacred space has been invaded” and “violated” in recent catastrophes. These are the spaces that we need to “keep our humanity about us.”
Krzmarzick invites us “student, staff, or faculty” to involve ourselves in “finding common ground and trying to cultivate peace” offering “Seton Hill will always be a place where we seek to include everyone and celebrate our diversity, and work together for peace and justice and the common good.”
“You can take pride in your country or community, but that pride doesn’t have to mean over and above others. It doesn’t have to mean better than.” Krzmarzick said.
It is important to remember our roots as a university, Krzmarzick reminds us to not “get caught up in ideologies” and to instead pride ourselves in “living our mission of being bridge builders in imitation of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill. ‘Where is there a need in society?’ they ask that question, and they then say ‘how can we address that need?’”
“We’re all interconnected. God calls us to community and to live in peaceful relationships.” Krzmarzick stated.
This need is peace, unity, and respect for others. Father Statnick’s homily echoed the importance of “Regarding other people with respect and with a certain sense of dignity and honor no matter what political positions they take, that’s the foundation out of which you have to operate.” He acknowledges we all have disagreements, but that “the way in which you disagreed and the disagreement can never take away that fundamental respect and dignity of the person.”
“If you try to kill someone, that is the ultimate disrespect, because you are saying that life is somehow expendable to a particular idea, position, or ideology.” Statnick stated.
Father Statnick encourages us to “call ourselves back to our basic humanity that is founded on something greater than any human position” and that “in the Catholic faith, I believe it is founded on the God who gave us life and sustains our life, and forgives us for our wrongs.”
Krzmarzick shares that trust and surrender in God (or in something greater than ourselves) relieves us. We “don’t have to understand it all, don’t have to figure it all out, and don’t have to try and fix everything. God is always working and will ultimately work things out for the common good and for the good of all.”
Father Statnick motivates us, “We’ll get beyond this. Not that we have a road map of how to get beyond it, but getting beyond it starts with having the hope that you can do it.”
“When we look out, there are people within other countries that are praying for peace too, that have the same dreams and hopes and visions that we do,” Long adds.
An excerpt from the Recessional Hymn: “This is My Song,” often used in interfaith prayer services; “But other hearts in other lands are beating with hopes and dreams as true and high as mine…Teach us to sing, O God of all creation, a song of hope for ocean, sky, and pine. Teach us to walk the way that ends division, till ev’ry land and nation love entwines. Then will all peoples see your glorious vision: the world at peace, beloved and divine.”
In this time of confusion and fear, Seton Hill has encouragement for you.