Community Prayers for the Unfolding Situation in the Middle East

The recent shocking and heartbreaking news from the Middle East has flooded our media and our lives in ways that elicit confusion, outrage, anger, and grief. The human cost of lives lost, families destroyed, and hostages held captive has become a daily reminder that the struggle against terrorism and violence is one that each of us must confront in our lives and our communities.  

Our commitment to the value and dignity of each human being requires us to promote peace and to recommit ourselves to respect for all persons. As members of a Lasallian Catholic community, we stand with others who advance the common good with compassion while promoting justice, peace, and love across differences.

I received a letter today that was sent from the Brother Chancellor of Bethlehem University, Brother Peter Bray, to Lasallian educators throughout the world. In this letter, Brother Peter announces the death of one of the university’s students and describes the results of the war that is being fought around his university.

Brother Ronald Gallagher, President Emeritus here at Saint Mary’s College, and Brother Kenneth Cardwell have both lived and taught at Bethlehem University and now reside on our campus. I have visited Bethlehem University myself and have witnessed firsthand the Lasallian spirit that connects both our student body and theirs to the longstanding core value of the human person which is at the center of our educational mission. 

I ask you to join me in praying for the student who recently lost his life, for his classmates, for his family, and for all Israelis and Palestinians whose lives are impacted by this war.

With this message, I also invite you to a gathering for peace hosted by the Mission and Ministry Center in the Chapel Plaza next Tuesday, October 17, at 1 p.m.  Please join your prayers with others on campus and with the thousands of students, faculty, and staff in Lasallian schools throughout the world at this compassionate gathering for peace for all whose lives have been devastated by this war in the Middle East.

Sincerely,

Brother Thomas Jones, FSC

Interim President