J.M.J.A.T.K.A
Last night I settled down for a night of facebook and finishing up a research paper. Right when I logged on to facebook I saw that Osama Bin Laden had been killed. I quickly turned on the TV to CNN so I could confirm it.
And there it was...The world's most wanted man had been killed by US forces.
Time to celebrate.
I grabbed a beer from my fridge just as my neighbor knocked on my door with a alcoholic beverage of her own. She too was shocked and amazed that bin Laden had been killed. We knocked on my other neighbors door- after she heard the news, she quickly grab a margarita from her fridge. We then toasted that he was dead.
I went back to my room to continue watching CNN and the reactions on facebook. Many status's where of jubilation but then it started- the posts from people saying they refused to rejoice over a man's death.
It was the prefect definition of the word: Kill joy.
Then the 2x4 of God smacked me on the head. It was Divine Mercy Sunday. I was at Mass not three hours ago agreeing with the Priest that we all need to have mercy on each other- and ourselves- when we wrong one another. Since then I've been in a constant state of confusion...but also openness to hard questions:
How do I look at him and not feel hatred?
How should I feel towards him?
How should I feel towards my fellow Americans that post disrespectful things?
Should I forgive him?
I'm not going to tell anyone how they should react to all of this because I don't know how to react. All I can do is to pray through this process and hope to come up with some understanding.
I don't want to know it all right away. I want to patiently be in this moment. To learn as much as possible. (hope you do this same)
To start, here's what the Vatican had to say about bin Laden's death:
Osama bin Laden, as we all know, bore the most serious responsibility for spreading divisions and hatred among populations, causing the deaths of innumerable people, and manipulating religions for this purpose.
In the face of a man’s death, a Christian never rejoices, but reflects on the serious responsibilities of each person before God and before men, and hopes and works so that every event may be the occasion for the further growth of peace and not of hatred.
And I'll be working that research paper that's due next Monday...
--AC
