Abbot Brendan osb
On the evening of 14 November 1940, bombs rained down on the city of Coventry for eleven hours. After the raid, Coventry Cathedral and much of the medieval city had been reduced to ruins. It lost hundreds of shops, public buildings and 43,000 homes; 554 people were killed. The raid was so bad that a new word was coined; to be coventried, meaning to be decimated. In February 1945, and partly in retaliation, bombs were dropped on Dresden, one of the world’s most beautiful cities, for three days. A firestorm developed, killing up to 25,000 people, and six and a half kms2 of the city centre was obliterated.
Today, Dresden and Coventry are twinned cities, but the ruins of Coventry Cathedral are still visible. A new cathedral stands beside the old, but the old remains as a reminder of the senseless destruction and loss of life of which we are capable when madness takes hold. These cathedrals, new and old, side by side, have become symbols of peace and reconciliation.
Eighty four years later and our world is still disfigured by war and violence. People of good will desire to make common cause in the search for a worldwide community of fraternity and understanding under God. Peace is not just the absence of war, like a cathedral, it has to be constructed, patiently and with unshakeable faith.
What does all this have to do with Pentecost and your Confirmation? Everything. The cathedral of peace is built of many small stones. Each one of us has to become a stone in that beautiful edifice. Mistrust and division begin in human hearts. The Acts of the Apostles tells us, “There were devout people living in Jerusalem from every nation under heaven.” Each heard the apostles preaching in their own language. They communicated and understanding was the result. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. These are not just qualities that sound nice in a list, they are necessary if humanity is to survive. They are the fruits of the Spirit. Wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord, the Spirit’s seven gifts; wise people of integrity are what we need today.
Wherever the strong exploit the weak; wherever the rich take advantage of the poor; wherever great powers seek to dominate and to impose ideologies, there the work of making peace is undone; there the cathedral of peace is again destroyed.
“When the Advocate comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who issues from the Father, he will be my witness. And you too will be witnesses”. The ruins of the old cathedral constantly remind our society of its capacity to destroy. You are the stones building up the new edifice. You can see from our castle restoration works outside just how difficult it is to replace a broken stone. Be strong, firm and clear. Know for what you stand and why. Know that you are not alone, the Holy Spirit is with you and together we are many. This is the Church, whose birthday we recall with the coming of the Spirit. Find your voice and use it.