Italian version: https://www.giovaniperlapace.it/2015/11/prayforparis/
Pens and keyboards, heart and minds . Everything trembles. An enormous and continuous stream of words has been flooding through people’s minds and social networks. Paris is shaking and it hurts.
Our deepest affection and unity with those who have lost a loved one, to those who are frightened, to those who don’t feel safe, to those who are angry, to all who have been hurt in body and soul.
Our concerns are also directed to those far away from Paris. To all who were there and cannot shake the thought: “that could have been me”.
Our thoughts are with whoever is scared that this blind violence might touch him. Our thoughts to all who continuously live in this terror, who run away from it and to those who suffer at the sound of god’s name being abused, forced to to stand up and scream “not in my name”. These are our thoughts. This is all we can express. A thought of condemnation to violence. A thought that also wants to strongly affirm that victims do not ever confuse to the executioners against the darkness of the fear that has gripped many souls – a fear as dark as last night in Paris.
This thought wants to be universal, it wants to touch every fear, because the plight of Paris’ victims shock us and ache our hearts just as much as any victim of awful violence in any part of the world.
A special thought goes to Syria, that has been silently martyred for long.
A fear starts spreading. And it is the fear that these thoughts might fade away. The fear that an “enemy” might hide behind the faces of those who tried to escape from the same unspeakable violence.
In response to the fears and feelings generated by the recent happenings in Paris we wish to clearly affirm through our thoughts of sympathy that: muslims are not the enemy, refugees are not the enemy, no man is the enemy. Never should the victim be confused with the executioner- as it was written.
In this nebula of confused words, one face is pivotal: the face of the one who weeps.
The tearful face of he who has seen violence threatening his life in Paris or anywhere else in the world. The tearful face of the many refugees – the tearful faces of those loosing hope because of violence. The tearful faces of our Muslim brothers that are crying for the eradicated lives in Paris, in the name of an Islam violated by violent people. The tearful faces of those Muslims that are crying at the violence of guns (let’s think about Syria as an example) and words spreading here in our Europe. The tearful faces of those who feel their hearts aching.
To scream “enemy” is to scream “crucify him”. When the crowd screams, the faces of many cry. Let’s not make the same mistake.
With the clarity of this thought let us dry the tears of those who cry through prayer. Let us pray for Paris. Let us pray for the spilled tears. Let us pray to not cry anymore. Let us pray against all violence. Let us pray that hate may never prevail over peace.