Every now and again I come across something that can still send tingling shock waves through this old thickened spine of mine. The attachment that I am sending on to you is one such "something". It refers to a prayer found on the body of a child killed by the nazis in Ravensbruck concentration camp. Did the child write it? Who knows? But it speaks loudly and eloquently from his/her trajic corpse.
I've been looking at Suffering and God with S4 pupils this year; it will always remain a mystery. There is the free will argument ofcourse(we must be free if we are to love/hate really) but this little child's prayer from the depths of suffering that thankfully, I can't even imagine, got me beyond mere academic arguments....
The power of Forgiveness, and the supernatural possibility of obeying the law of Jesus to love our enemies, blossom forth from this short "prayer of ravensbruck."
Can we still talk about God after the Holocaust?
Ravensbruck (a German concentration camp for women). In this camp, approximately 92,000 of the 132,000 women there died from gas chambers, malnourishment, sickness, and other violent acts. I cannot conceive of what it must have been like there, but despite all of these conditions, this humbling prayer was found written on a paper in the coat of a dead girl:
“O Lord, remember not only the men and women of good will, but also those of ill will. But, do not remember all of the suffering they have inflicted upon us; Instead remember the fruits we have borne because of this suffering — our fellowship, our loyalty to one another, our humility, our courage, our generosity, the greatness of heart that has grown from this trouble. When our persecutors come to be judged by you, let all of these fruits that we have borne be their forgiveness.”
“Oh that I could learn to forgive others for the offenses that seem petty in light of this suffering.”
“From the mouths of babes wisdom from above surprises us, unhindered by rhetoric, form or cynicism.”
Ciao cari amici,
Andrew
I've been looking at Suffering and God with S4 pupils this year; it will always remain a mystery. There is the free will argument ofcourse(we must be free if we are to love/hate really) but this little child's prayer from the depths of suffering that thankfully, I can't even imagine, got me beyond mere academic arguments....
The power of Forgiveness, and the supernatural possibility of obeying the law of Jesus to love our enemies, blossom forth from this short "prayer of ravensbruck."
Can we still talk about God after the Holocaust?
Ravensbruck (a German concentration camp for women). In this camp, approximately 92,000 of the 132,000 women there died from gas chambers, malnourishment, sickness, and other violent acts. I cannot conceive of what it must have been like there, but despite all of these conditions, this humbling prayer was found written on a paper in the coat of a dead girl:
“O Lord, remember not only the men and women of good will, but also those of ill will. But, do not remember all of the suffering they have inflicted upon us; Instead remember the fruits we have borne because of this suffering — our fellowship, our loyalty to one another, our humility, our courage, our generosity, the greatness of heart that has grown from this trouble. When our persecutors come to be judged by you, let all of these fruits that we have borne be their forgiveness.”
“Oh that I could learn to forgive others for the offenses that seem petty in light of this suffering.”
“From the mouths of babes wisdom from above surprises us, unhindered by rhetoric, form or cynicism.”
Ciao cari amici,
Andrew
