Where do we go from here? On November 13, 2015, an Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) cell launched a series of coordinated terrorist attacks across Paris. First, they targeted multiple locations, including restaurants, a concert hall, and a stadium. Consequently, the attacks kill 131 people. Additionally, they injured over 400 others. For example, gunmen open fire at the Bataclan theater, taking hostages. Meanwhile, suicide bombers detonate explosives outside the Stade de France. As a result, this day marks the deadliest in France since World War II. Moreover, it became the most lethal operation ISIL has executed in Europe to date.
After these harrowing events, I wanted revenge. My first reaction was revenge. But then, on Sunday, I attended the annual Bishops’ Mass at St. Peter’s Church in Los Angeles with my mom, sister, and one of my daughters. The hymn we sang was in tribute to St. Francis:
Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy.
O, Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love; For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; it is in dying that we are born again to eternal life.
Where do we go from here? I don’t know if love and understanding bring love and understanding; I am conflicted—perhaps we all are.
