War in Iran: the Spiral of Violence Grows…

The war in Iran goes on. 

What are the aims of the conflict unleashed by Israel and the United States? The USA tries to explain its relentless bombing campaign with a variety of constantly-shifting objectives. It’s about “regime change,” or destroying permanently Iran’s capacity to build a nuclear weapon, or reducing as much as possible Iran’s ability and status a regional military threat. The U.S. president at one point last week called for Iran’s “unconditional surrender.” But what authority can he make such a demand? What does it even mean?

These are open-ended and — in the circumstances — opaque goals for what is being presented as a “preemptive war of self-defense” (a concept which, in any case, could be used as a justification for any nation to attack another nation). Despite Iran’s brutal regime, its theocratic opposition to Israel, and the violence of its regional proxies, it is by no means clear how Iran posed an imminent threat to the security of the United States of America. What has Iran done to deserve this wholesale terrorizing of its civilian population, the crippling of its capacity to function as a civil society, and the general chaos unleashed by the destruction of infrastructure and all the “death, fire, and fury” raining down from its skies?

Certainly, the Iranian government’s killing of thousands of protesters in the streets last month was barbaric and intolerable. It was the latest of decades of brutal and violent acts, and those who perpetrate such crimes must be held accountable. But why does anyone think that bombing the whole nation into a condition of powerlessness — with possible fragmentation, civil conflict, and chaos — will bring about improvement? Are the United States and Israel trying to “destroy-Iran-in-order-to-save-it”? Do these allies care about “saving” Iran at all? Are they even pursuing the same aims with their bombing campaign?

I want the people of Iran to flourish in a healthy society that respects the dignity of every human person, has religious freedom and an appropriate recognition of civil rights, and has peaceful relationships with its neighbors (in particular, Israel). These difficult goals (in my opinion) were still attainable by intense, constructive dialogue and the incentives of economic collaboration, greater cultural interaction, and fraternal solidarity with the international community. Recent negotiations appeared to be making small gains in this direction. In my opinion, the framework obtained by multilateral diplomatic efforts in 2015 should have been given a chance to unfold and open further possibilities for dialogue and development of the various and complex features of Iranian society. And there is no inherent reason why Iran and Israel couldn’t overcome their differences and learn to (at least) coexist peacefully in a region where there is ample room for Muslims, Jews, and Christians to dwell together as neighbors, recognizing their common humanity and their distinctive identities and heritages, learning to listen to one another and understand one another.

Why was the “space for dialogue” not fostered with more dedication and patience? Why was this not possible? Instead it seems that the injustices and failures of the 20th century that began with the fall of the Ottoman Empire will continue to constrain and define the peoples of the Middle East, pushing them further and further down the endless spiral of retributive violence.

This war will not bring security and stability to the region. Nor will it bring freedom to the Iranian people. Anything “gained” from this war will be regarded by many as a foreign imposition and received with resentment. War is never a constructive project, especially in our time. It only sows the seeds of more violence for the future. In the case of this war, the Iranian regime and its military are already pursuing revenge and counter-violence against the USA and its allies in the Gulf region, and positioning themselves to block the Strait of Hormuz and disrupt the global economy. 

The President of the United States began this war (in conjunction with Israel) without any authorization from the US Congress, without any international mandate from the UN, without any “checks” or “balances” against his power to command the most colossal military forces ever assembled in the history of the world. If some construal of the United States Constitution (beyond the wildest nightmares of the American founders) justifies the President wielding this kind of power, then it is time to amend the Constitution. No one person should have such unchecked, unmediated, unaccountable power. Nations and leaders must work together toward achieving peace and security in this world of monstrous technological forces and the fragile, imperiled condition of human existence and the whole realm of creation.

The war in Iran and the Middle East is already a “defeat for humanity” and it risks escalating into an even greater catastrophe. It is a cause of grave concern and profound sorrow. It is good for us to be united with the ongoing prayer of Pope Leo XIV:

"We lift up our humble prayer to the Lord, so that the thunderous sound of bombs may cease, weapons may fall silent, and a space for dialogue may open up in which the voice of the people can be heard.  I entrust this intention to the Blessed Virgin Mary, Queen of Peace, that she may intercede for those who suffer because of war and lead hearts along the paths of reconciliation and hope." (Pope Leo, Angelus, March 8).

"O Surpassing Loving-Kindness" - My Baptismal Day

Today I celebrated and gave thanks for the foundational gift that has shaped my entire existence, the gift of being wholly claimed by Jesus Christ through the sacrament of Baptism, which I received on March 10, 1963. I will never come to the end of my gratitude for the free gift of God the Father through Jesus Christ His Son and in the transforming "beginning" of a totally new life in the Holy Spirit.

Here is an excerpt from a fourth century text of the Church Father Saint Cyril of Jerusalem:

"O strange and inconceivable thing! We did not really die, we were not really buried, we were not really crucified and raised again; but our imitation was in a figure, and our salvation in reality. Christ was actually crucified, and actually buried, and truly rose again; and all these things He has freely bestowed upon us, that we, sharing His sufferings by imitation, might gain salvation in reality. O surpassing loving-kindness! Christ received nails in His undefiled hands and feet, and suffered anguish; while on me without pain or toil by the fellowship of His suffering He freely bestows salvation" (Saint Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lectures 20:5).

Pope Leo’s Prayer for Disarmament and Peace

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Lord of Life,
you shaped every human being in your image and likeness.
We believe you created us for communion, not for war,
for fraternity, not for destruction.

You who greeted your disciples saying, “Peace be with you,”
grant us the gift of your peace
and the strength to make it a reality in history.
Today we lift up our prayer for peace in the world,
asking that nations renounce weapons
and choose the path of dialogue and diplomacy.

Disarm our hearts of hatred, resentment, and indifference,
so we may become instruments of reconciliation.
Help us understand that true security
does not come from control fueled by fear,
but from trust, justice, and solidarity among peoples.

Lord, enlighten the leaders of the nations,
so they may have the courage to abandon projects of death,
halt the arms race,
and place the lives of the most vulnerable at the center.
May the nuclear threat never again dictate the future of humanity.

Holy Spirit
make us faithful and creative builders of daily peace:
in our hearts, our families,
our communities, our cities.
May every kind word, every gesture of reconciliation,
and every choice for dialogue be seeds of a new world.

Amen. .

~Pope Leo XIV

Winter's Dignified Beauty: A Sign of Hope?

Now that March has begun — full of the shock and terror of a war unleashed upon the world once again by reckless human hands — the "mostly-uncomfortable" month of February doesn't seem worth complaining about. After all, it was only relatively normal winter weather...

I didn't get out much, what with the snow in the beginning of the month and my developing a "stubborn chest cold" later (that I still haven't managed to shake). Ironically, my immune system has always been pretty strong — except for its blind spot for Lyme Disease bacteria and its associated co-infections.

When the kids were growing up, I "shook off" most seasonal-minor-illness stuff. But now I am not only officially "over-the-hill," but am also in the early stages of tumbling along the strange-descent-down-the-other-side of the hill (ha, ha!😵‍💫😜). Colds and flu-ish things and headaches hang around longer, and require "rest" — which I have never been good at. But clearly last month's weather was not the kind that makes venturing out on my "three-legged-adventures" a restful experience.

Still, I got out a little bit and took pictures. And I also took some time crafting them with a variety of tools at JJStudios (this is also not "restful"). But I have a few things for the "virtual gallery" that will allow us to begin moving toward the Spring Equinox, as life and color begin to emerge... at least in our part of the world.

There are many reasons why people caught up in war might forget about spring. But war zones are not only places where humans suffer. The environment also dies under all these "hammers," all this "epic fury." It will be a burnt, charred springtime (if not worse) in Iran and the Middle East, in Ukraine, and who knows where else. Not to mention the colossal waste of resources for all the armaments that continue to contribute to human and environmental misery, pillaging and poisoning the earth. We are all to blame for this: the poisons in the air — from self-indulgence, greed, and war — have their radical origin from the poison in our hearts.

What can we do when war rages in "faraway" places? For one thing, we can acknowledge our own contribution to the "global rage," and how our own negligence has contributed to the epidemic of hearts growing colder and darker and fruitless in the ways of love. But we need not despair: the Divine Physician has come to bring healing and to set our hearts on fire. If we repent of our sins and let his healing mercy work within us, we will be able to bring change to our barren, blistered, frozen world — to bring forth works of mercy and beauty that offer healing and hope.

Here are a few recent pictures for this season in my own Virginia:

Saint Katharine Drexel

March 3rd is the commemoration of Saint Katharine Drexel, the first born citizen of the United States of America to be canonized.

Heiress of a vast family fortune, Katharine Drexel did more than give alms to the poor. She dedicated her personal energies and all her wealth to building institutions that would change the shape of the society in which she lived. Born in Philadelphia two years before the outbreak of the Civil War, Katharine Drexel’s life spanned nearly a century; she lived to see the United States move from the brink of disintegration to become the most wealthy and powerful nation in the world. 

During this period, however, her work was to found a congregation of women religious — the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament — specially dedicated to missionary activity among the poorest of America’s poor: the newly freed blacks and the increasingly oppressed indigenous peoples. 

Mother Drexel for many years traveled widely through the deep South and the Southwest, dedicating her administrative talents as well as her financial resources to furthering the work of her order. She was especially concerned with the founding of schools for Native Americans and African Americans (in 1917 she founded Xavier University in New Orleans, the first African American Catholic college). 

In the final twenty years of her long life, however, a heart condition forced the end of her journeying. Yet her labor during this time of suffering and what appeared to the rest of the world to be “retirement” was the greatest of all her works: Saint Katharine Drexel dedicated her remaining years to daily adoration of Jesus in the Eucharist, surrendering to him all of her missionary zeal and love for the poor.

Halting the Spiral of Violence

Words of Pope Leo XIV at the Angelus on Sunday, March 1:

“I am following with deep concern what is happening in the Middle East and in Iran during this tumultuous time. Stability and peace are not achieved through mutual threats, nor through the use of weapons, which sow destruction, suffering, and death, but only through reasonable, sincere, and responsible dialogue. Faced with the possibility of a tragedy of immense proportions, I make a heartfelt appeal to all the parties involved to assume the moral responsibility of halting the spiral of violence before it becomes an unbridgeable chasm. May diplomacy regain its proper role, and may the well-being of peoples, who yearn for peaceful existence founded on justice, be upheld. And let us continue to pray for peace.”

Black Smoke and Bright Fire in the Middle East

I had just posted yesterday's 35-year-old memory about "Gulf War I" in the early morning hours when the news came in that the United States and Israel had commenced a sustained bombing campaign against Iran. The Iranians are retaliating by bombing Israel and various Arab Gulf States that have U.S. military bases.

I think we are past the point of no return on this latest war. What a preposterous thing to do!! Unfortunately, it's not surprising, but it's a great sorrow, and we can barely imagine the disasters that may yet unfold. God help us!

Black smoke and bright fire all over the Middle East.