The Transformation of Suffering
Reflections on September 11
& the Wedding Feast at Cana in Galilee

A Christian Perspective on September 11, 2001

The Sins of the World

    If Christ has taken away the sins of the world, where, we may ask, are they? The answer is that they are nowhere. As soon as we turn to Christ, our sins are destroyed. As Paul puts it, "Jesus died for our sins and rose for our justification" (Romans 4.25), a short formula that puts in a nutshell the totality of Christ's love for us, which in turn manifests the infinite love of the Father for us.

    In this way, we can see that the passion of Jesus and the myriad forms of violence that are now creating a vast ocean of human suffering--one that we are aware of more and more insistently through the mass media--are not total disasters, but may actually be the seeds of resurrection. As Paul teaches, nothing can separate us from the love of Christ neither death nor anything else. This attitude in the face of the present crisis can help us to measure the kind of defensive activity that we take. It must not be excessive, or done for motives of retaliation, revenge, or the desire for a vindictive triumph.

    The fact that terrorists think and act the way they do may be attributed in part to the failure of nations and governments to respond to the great needs of developing countries and of the poor in general. We are now confronted with a situation that has reached a point where we have no control, or at the least no absolute control, over our lives. In such situations, where do we place our confidence?

    We need to pray that the oneness of the human family will become an invincible conviction, and that we may have the discernment to know how to respond to these uncertain times.

    Christ's love for us is not sentimental. It is the most powerful force in the world. Paul prays that we may understand its length and height and breadth and depth (cf. Ephesians 3:14-19). It is this love that we access in contemplative prayer. At the same time, our prayer needs to manifest itself in the quality of our daily lives. One of the gifts we may think of giving to the human family at this point in its evolution is the effort to relate to other people's needs more profoundly than we have done before. We need to reach out to those who oppose us in reconciliation, patience, and compassion. We all suffer from the human condition and long to escape from our common misery. Why not hold hands and help each other climb out of the swamp rather than fight over the real estate?

    There is a picture of the Twin Towers drawn by a child that appeared in the newspapers shortly after the attack. It was a picture of the two towers with arms reaching out to each other, and each pair of arms was trying to hold up the other tower. This picture comes from the heart of a child, but it certainly touches a very deep issue: in holding our arms up to God for the infinite mercy that is always available, we do not succeed in isolation. We need the help of each other.

Centering Prayer and Our Responsibilities to the World

    Many are still suffering the fallout from the horrors of the attack on September 11. Those who are deeply committed to centering prayer may wish to lengthen their periods of prayer. It might be only five minutes; others may wish to add another session. This may mean that we will be more open to the values of the inner room that we enter during centering prayer, where we expose ourselves completely to the divine presence, and where, by virtue of sitting on the cross with Christ, so to speak, we renew our baptismal commitment to the death of the false self and the resurrection of the true self. This primary significance of baptism is also the primary value of contemplative prayer.

    In this perspective, the very difficulties we have in the centering prayer practice and in the evolution of our spiritual journey are signs that we are sharing the passion of Christ. The whole human family joins us in our spiritual journey and benefits from our progress in God's love.

    The present circumstances seem to be teaching us that we are accountable for everyone on earth past, present, and to come. There is no way of separating our fate from the fate of others. This may mean that we share the fate of those who are suffering, or at the very least it means that we feel for those who do, and do what we can to manifest the goodness and tenderness of God through the practice of compassion for and genuine love of one another.

More information can be obtained by reading the book The Transformation of Suffering by Fr. Thomas Keating.  It is offered in our Book Store.