Louie's Forgiveness

Yesterday, we were introduced to Unbroken, the 2010 biography of Louis Zamperini.  Today, we are invited to watch this segment from "CBS This Morning," May 27, 2012 (Memorial Day weekend), in which 95-year-old Louie tells us:  "Hate is self-destructive.  If you hate a person, you're not hurting the person you hate; you're hurting yourself.  Forgiveness is a real healing."  (E-mail subscribers:  If you do not see the video embedded in this e-mail, click here to watch it.)

Read any good books lately? (Part 2)

We didn't set out to have the first two books of our summer recommendations be war stories, but after our first recommendation of a work of fiction about World War II (see post from Friday, June 8 about Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet), we are offering a biography centering on this time period.  Today's recommendation is Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption, by Laura Hillenbrand (author of Seabiscuit).  Written in 2010, this book chronicles the life of Louis Zamperini, U.S. Olympian (in track) turned second lieutenant turned prisoner of war.  While the book's subtitle accurately reflects that this is a story of survival, resilience and redemption, this is also a story of dignity and forgiveness. 

This biography has much to tell us about the loss of human dignity: "Men subjected to dehumanizing treatment experience profound wretchedness and loneliness and find that hope is almost impossible to retain.  Without dignity, identity is erased.  In its absence, men are defined not by themselves but by their captors and the circumstances in which they are forced to live.  One American airman, shot down and relentlessly debased by his captors, described the state of mind that his captivity created: 'I was literally becoming a lesser human being.'  . . . Dignity is as essential to human life as water, food and oxygen.  The stubborn retention of it, even in the face of extreme physical hardship, can hold a man's soul in his body long past the point at which the body should have surrendered it.  The loss of it can carry a man off as surely as thirst, hunger, exposure and asphyxiation, and with greater cruelty.  In places like Kwajalein, degradation could be as lethal as a bullet" (p. 182-3).

During his years as a prisoner of war, Zamperini endured unspeakable, daily torture at the hand of his captors.  When physically freed from his captors, Louie had a long road until he freed his spirit of them. Thus, the description of the forgiveness he extended to his captors years later provides extraordinary Christian witness. 

This 496-page biography is impossible to condense, but worth every minute it takes to read it.  Hopefully, we will find a little something in Louie's story that makes us better human beings.

What are you doing for the Fortnight?

As we reminded you two weeks ago, the Fortnight for Freedom  -- a national campaign designated by the U.S. Catholic bishops for teaching and witness in support of religious liberty extends from June 21 to July 4.  Daily reflections for this can be found on the USCCB website.

Fortnight for Freedom

Are you familiar with the USCCB's "Fortnight for Freedom" from June 21 to July 4?  Click here to see what your diocese is doing.

Ties That Matter

Ties That Matter is a non-profit organization that teaches low income women to make and sell products created from recycled and donated neckties. Although the organization began in Atlanta, its primary focus is in Haiti where it helps women form craft co-ops that provide reliable income for themselves and their villages. 

From the Ties That Matter website:  Ties That Matter is made up of a community of people tied together by a common dream of a whole and healthy earth and a shared belief that we are responsible for one another.Ties That Matter has determined to fulfill this mission by using donated and recycled materials to help low income women find self reliance, sustainability and self respect by creating and selling crafts made from free or recycled materials. We primarily use recycled neckties donated by churches in the United States.

What a great way for churches and school groups to make a difference.  Click here to go to the site to find out how your group can assist in this creative endeavor. 

Read Any Good Books Lately?

As we did a few summers ago, let's recommend some books for summer reading.  While these books are fiction (since it's summer, after all), they have a way of awakening us to some themes of justice with which we are unfamiliar or which we have forgotten.  Those of you who are Villanova grads might be familiar with "One Book Villanova," in which one book is chosen for the academic year and several events (including visits from the author) are scheduled.  This year's "One Book" was Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford.  Told from the perspective of Henry Lee, a Chinese gentleman who grew up in Seattle, this book tells the story of Japanese internment during World War II.  Because of the rampant anti-Japanese sentiment in the 1940's, Henry's father compels him to wear a button that says, "I am Chinese."  Henry's friendship with the only other Asian student in his elementary school -- who happens to be a Japanese girl -- forms the structure of this novel, as Henry (now living in the 1980's and mourning the loss of his wife) looks back on this turbulent time in history.

Remembering this period of American history seems to be increasingly important today, as we react in fear to those around us -- many of them American citizens -- who might be of the same ethnic ancestry as those our country considers enemies. 

Beware the "Bogus" Prayer Request

Here's another reminder that things are not always what they seem to be.  Many, many people have perpetuated this prayer request from India.  Before reading, know that IT IS NOT TRUE.  As always, you can check these things out at snopes.com.  Here's a form of the request:  Urgent prayer request!  Please pray for all the churches in India.  Buddhist extremists burned down 20 churches last night.  Tonight they plan to destroy 200 churches and they plan to kill 200 missionaries . . .

The request goes on, asking for prayers to our "Almighty and Victorious Lord." 

When we receive such requests, it is our responsibility to determine their validity before forwarding them.  Further, we need to ask ourselves why we believe such a claim without first verifying it.  Finally, we pray for Buddhists in India (there aren't many of them) who have been defamed and disrespected by our actions when we forward such requests. 

Let's try to use the Internet responsibly.