The Salt Lake Tribune
I'd like to share a 5-minute reflection with you by Fr. John Riccardo, which you can read or listen to online at First Things First. (I have included the direct link below as well.)
His reflection reminds us that St. Paul asked for prayers "for kings and for all in authority, that we may lead a quiet and tranquil life in all devotion and dignity."
Fr. Riccardo goes on to describe the king that Paul is probably referring to (Nero), sharing some history about the circumstances under which Paul was living, as well as how Peter and Paul likely died.
You see, young Nero, as Emperor of Rome at the age of 17, liked to hold gruesome games where Christians were killed.
This is the king that Paul is likely asking people to pray for!
It might go against our nature to pray for someone that is bringing chaos, death and destruction to our lives, but pray we must.
In my community, we are grieving the great loss of a shooting and fire that took the life of four people and wounded eight from the local Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
In addition to praying for the victims, their families and our community, we must also pray for the shooter and his family. I hold to the belief that nobody in their right mind would do something like this. I'm sure those he left behind are victims of another sort, as well.
And as we learned from Paul, "wicked as he [the king] was, God desires all to be saved. Not some. Not most. Not those who think like we do. Not 'the good guys.' All. Do we? Do we really, I mean, really, lift up holy hands on behalf of those in authority – presidents, governors, and others?"
Our faith can be challenging in difficult times, but our faithfulness to God's ways must be consistent.
Let us all keep praying and work to bring peace into our communities.
Janet Cassidy
Email me
at: jmctm2@gmail.com
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Direct link to Fr. Riccardo's reflection:
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