EXTRAORDINARY LIVES!
I heard a homily recently about St. Agnes-that has left me wondering about man's inhumanity. I squirmed in my seat, covered my face and held my breath as the story grew worse. It seems St. Agnes lived a chaste life-so her tormentors rolled her naked body over coals, before cutting off her breasts and then serving them on a platter at a banquet.
They say she died for her faith beliefs, but I believe she died because sometimes people do evil things-because they are unquestionably, driven by evil. There is absolutely no sane reason for heinous torture or the awful aftermath.
The priests story brought me back to the war in Bosnia. Fighting erupted while I was taping a documentary in Poland and Romania. Since my crew and I were relatively close by, we considered flying to Bosnia to cover the outbreak of the war. But as fate would have it...the new airline tickets would have cost us several thousand dollars extra...far too much money...and so we went home as planned. Sitting at the JFK airport in New York waiting to fly back to New Orleans, I read with horror a Time magazine story about how women journalists who were covering the war had been captured, tortured and had their breasts cut off. I couldn't believe it...and then I thought, "My God-we almost went there!" "Thank you God for protecting us. Thank you for stopping us from traveling to this danger zone!"
I really believe God protected us on our travels...and it wasn't the first time. Of course I often wonder why some people are allowed to be put through so much pain, while others are not. But that's the thing-one person's pain is another persons mission. Often their fate and sometimes their fervent will is to be a channel of the divine will.
I know one thing-ordinary people-who have made it through extraordinarily difficult experiences...and who still radiate joy-leave a lasting impression that travels through time from generation to generation, giving the rest of us the inspiration and the courage to make it through our challenges with our heads held high and hope in our hearts and the firm belief that God is with us, carrying us and anointing us with a supernatural strength to face just about anything!
They say she died for her faith beliefs, but I believe she died because sometimes people do evil things-because they are unquestionably, driven by evil. There is absolutely no sane reason for heinous torture or the awful aftermath.
The priests story brought me back to the war in Bosnia. Fighting erupted while I was taping a documentary in Poland and Romania. Since my crew and I were relatively close by, we considered flying to Bosnia to cover the outbreak of the war. But as fate would have it...the new airline tickets would have cost us several thousand dollars extra...far too much money...and so we went home as planned. Sitting at the JFK airport in New York waiting to fly back to New Orleans, I read with horror a Time magazine story about how women journalists who were covering the war had been captured, tortured and had their breasts cut off. I couldn't believe it...and then I thought, "My God-we almost went there!" "Thank you God for protecting us. Thank you for stopping us from traveling to this danger zone!"
I really believe God protected us on our travels...and it wasn't the first time. Of course I often wonder why some people are allowed to be put through so much pain, while others are not. But that's the thing-one person's pain is another persons mission. Often their fate and sometimes their fervent will is to be a channel of the divine will.
I know one thing-ordinary people-who have made it through extraordinarily difficult experiences...and who still radiate joy-leave a lasting impression that travels through time from generation to generation, giving the rest of us the inspiration and the courage to make it through our challenges with our heads held high and hope in our hearts and the firm belief that God is with us, carrying us and anointing us with a supernatural strength to face just about anything!
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