Editor's Note
Peace on Earth?
What is this peace of which we hear so much during the Christmas season? If peace means the absence of hostility, then it has probably never existed on earth, at least not since the creation of human beings. It certainly didn’t exist in Bethlehem: The Savior was born in an occupied territory rife with sectarian conflict, and almost immediately pursued by those who wanted to kill Him.
No, Jesus seems not so much to have brought peace, but instead to have urged His followers to make peace, to wage peace, and to have shown them how. Zecharia, the father of John the Baptist, hailed “the tender mercy of our God, by which the daybreak from on high will visit us to shine on those who sit in darkness and death’s shadow, to guide our feet into the path of peace” (Luke 1: 78-79).
In this month’s cover story, you’ll read about a group of people who have come together to make peace in the life of a homeless woman and her children. And while these people have used a variety of talents in this work, they’ll be the first to tell you that they are only instruments, that their inspiration, their motivation comes from the Lord.
This season of peace also contains the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, one of the most misunderstood – even by Catholics -- doctrines of the Church. Read Fr. Bill McConville’s lucid explanation of this teaching, and its special significance to the Diocese of Raleigh, on page 6.
Each issue of NC Catholics in 2008 has taken as its theme one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit. In 2008, each issue will celebrate life in one of its different stages, from the womb to the rocking chair. I hope you’ll send me article ideas from all over the diocese! You can write me at 715 Nazareth Street, Raleigh, NC 27606 or reece@raldioc.org.