There was a book written a few years back called The Monks of Tibhirine about a group of Trappist monks who were kidnapped and murdered in Algeria in on May 21, 1998. Those monks in Algeria knew that they were in danger, but they felt called to witness to the community there and to make sacrifices for the faith. At first it was reported that they had been killed by Islamic extremists in that country, but there are conflicting reports that claim that they were murdered by the Algerian army. They were beatified in 2018, along with 12 other Algerian martyrs.
Our reading from the letter of James today comes near the end of the letter in the form of encouraging words and advice for the faithful. A lot of the advice James gives can be easily translated to our modern world. James talks about patience and tolerance, advising us that we should not judge and grumble against our brothers and sisters. In the sacrament of reconciliation, I often hear people talk about their struggles with patience, how they can very easily get angry at others. When we look at the road rage and accounts of violence in the news, we see how prevalent this anger is in our modern world. It is easy to criticize someone, especially when we are looking in from the sidelines and aren’t putting ourselves in the other person’s shoes.
When we look at a group of monk who were an appreciated presence in their community but who were murdered in the midst of anger and religious intolerance, we how much patience and tolerance are lacking in our world today.
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