In days of peace, we so easily judge those who go to war for something. It is easy to say that a person who starts a war is bad. However, when we look at our lives, we find that we ourselves do not easily tolerate injustices, or even when we are shortchanged financially.
What's more, if we think about when we knew we were parking in a prohibited place or choosing the wrong speed, and yet acting accordingly, we received our punishment, maybe we weren't quite calm then either. Maybe we didn't say "after all, it's fair" either. Even if we know that the punishment was justified, it is difficult for us to bear it.
On Friday, we celebrated Blessed XI. Pope Ince, who organized a crusade. Nowadays it is said that the Crusades are among the sins of the Church. This is a simplification typical of our time, which does not really take into account what these wars meant at the time. It is already worth pointing out that there were excesses of the Crusaders, for which it was not by chance that King St. II apologized. Pope John Paul. Unfortunately, since wars were also created by people, they also had sinful, sometimes very serious, actions.
However, the crusade itself is a type of defensive war, the purpose and essence of which is to liberate the Christian and sometimes Jewish population of areas occupied and oppressed by Muslims.
It also means that his intention and purpose were good. When I criticize the Crusaders while living in Budapest, maybe I should think about the fact that in these weeks we will celebrate not only the Pope to whom we owe our freedom, but also the victories that started the liberation in our country and ended the Turkish disaster .
People who like peace tend not to like wars. The desire and intention of Christianity is inherently directed towards peace. However, Jesus himself says that there are times when we are free or when we have to fight to protect the truth and people. Of course, if we want to fight a just war, if there is one, it must be proportionate.
I cannot go with the sword against him who besieges me with only his words. However, as Christians, we also have the right to self-defense. It is permissible to speak out against the processes that destroy our world or attack our faith, especially life.
An interesting question is how we as Christians can relate to the goods of this world. One sure point is that we should not commit our hearts to this transitory world. It is also certain that we must work for the rise of this world. Day after day, we have to search for that fragile balance that tries to build bridges to the permanent in this world. Our king Saint István offered the crown and with it our country to God. This offering, this connection, is what we must seek. The Virgin Mary was raised to heaven by God, and in her we can witness the transfiguration of the material world. Somewhere, everything that belongs to human nature is invited here.
A Christian man values spiritual goods more, because they belong to God, but he does not despise physical reality either, because the body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. A person of faith makes transience essential.
When we remember that there were people who sacrificed their lives for us, so that we can freely seek a relationship with God, maybe we can pray with gratitude and fulfill the freedom we have been given. From this point of view, it seems pure hypocrisy to despise and call the Crusades bad in the first place, since we ourselves won peace from them.
Miklós Molnár / vasarnap.hu
Featured image: evangelikus.hu
