A weekend of peace

This weekend, a group of my casamates met up with Casa Dorothy Kazel and Casa Ita Ford (other L.A. JV houses) downtown for the Interfaith 9/11 Prayer Vigil. The event was spearheaded by the Episcopal Diocese of L.A., but leaders of all the Abrahamic faiths were represented, and the event was hosted at the religion-neutral L.A. city hall. The focus was definitely on the interfaith aspect of the event, and less on memorializing the victims of 9/11 and the war after. Still, it was interesting and inspirational, and very peaceful.

The more significant way we remembered 9/11 was at the Sunday 5:30 Mass at St. Monica's (in Santa Monica). We've been Church shopping for a while now, and St. Monica's is definitely my favorite. It reminds me a lot of the 7:30 Mass I went to at Georgetown for four years, but on a larger scale with an intense speaker system. The 5:30 Mass is the contemporary mass for young adults, so it suits us well. Everyone is incredibly welcoming, and we really like a lot of their traditions already -- like everyone receiving communion starting from the back, and everyone reciting the names aloud of each person we pray for during the intercessions. Our impression of St. Monica's became even better when they played Maya Angelou's "Amazing Peace" following the homily, in honor of the 10th anniversary of 9/11. The girls of CMC really like Maya Angelou, and her poem was a perfect way to end a peaceful weekend.


"Amazing Peace" (abridged)
by Maya Angelou


      Thunder rumbles in the mountain passes
      And lightning rattles the eaves of our houses.
      Flood waters await us in our avenues.

      Snow falls upon snow, falls upon snow to avalanche
      Over unprotected villages.
      The sky slips low and grey and threatening.

      ... ... ...


      Hope is born again in the faces of children
      It rides on the shoulders of our aged as they walk into their sunsets.
      Hope spreads around the earth. Brightening all things,
      Even hate which crouches breeding in dark corridors.

      In our joy, we think we hear a whisper.
      At first it is too soft. Then only half heard.
      We listen carefully as it gathers strength.
      We hear a sweetness.
      The word is Peace.
      It is loud now. It is louder.
      Louder than the explosion of bombs.

      We tremble at the sound. We are thrilled by its presence.
      It is what we have hungered for.
      Not just the absence of war. But, true Peace.
      A harmony of spirit, a comfort of courtesies.
      Security for our beloveds and their beloveds.

      On this platform of peace, we can create a language
      To translate ourselves to ourselves and to each other.

      We shout with glorious tongues at the coming of hope.
      All the earth's tribes loosen their voices
      To celebrate the promise of Peace.

      We, Angels and Mortal's, Believers and Non-Believers,
      Look heavenward and speak the word aloud. Peace. 
      We look at our world and speak the word aloud. Peace. 
      We look at each other, then into ourselves
      And we say without shyness or apology or hesitation.

      Peace, My Brother. Peace, My Sister. Peace, My Soul.