I thank God that we have been granted life in spite of global terrorism and today's temptations that remind us of Apocalyptic messages particularly in the Book of Revelation attributed to John the Apostle.
In this Year of Mercy, it is my prayer to God that in his unlimited mercy He may accord global humanity eternal joy for which He created us and for which He offered us salvation through Jesus Christ. This is also the prayer of Hans Urs von Balthasar, one of the greatest theologians of the 20th century, made cardinal by Saint Pope John Paul II, whose literature on the mystical beauty of God has been read by many followers (see "Love Alone is Believable"), Jesuit scholar Fr. Henri Boulad, S.J. mentioned von Balthasar's prayer in one of his talks on eschatology in 2015 and the late Richard John Neuhaus, founder of First Things, referred to him in his article "Will All be Saved?"
I learned, however, that the scholar René Girard, retired professor of
civilization and French at Stanford University, passed away to God at
the age of 91 on November 4, 2015. His
influence on the development of mimesis in shaping culture and
religion has been immense. His significant contribution to many
fields of knowledge can be seen here in a post by Bishop Robert Barron:
https://www.wordonfire.org/resources/article/ren-girard-church-father/4982/ and Imitatio website where Mark Anspach wrote on René Girard's legacy here. I first learned about Girard when I was reading comments and reactions to the lecture of Pope Benedict XVI at the University of Regensburg in 2006. One of the commentators was a Muslim writer who mentioned Girard's work on the centrality of the cross in Christianity and the response to violence. At that time I also learned of the writings of Prof. Fr. Samir Khalil Samir, S.J. related to the situation of Christians with radical Islam. In fact, Girard's work became more relevant after the violent attack of Islamic extremists on 9/11, 2001 when planes were hijacked and crashed in the Twin Towers of New York killing some 3,000 U.S. citizens. Girard wrote frequently in First Things ("Are the Gospels Mythical" here and "On War and Apocalypse" here).
I lectured about Girard's thought a few times in 2007 and 2009 (see here). Fr. Georges Farah, whose credentials include a doctorate in philosophy and another in theology from The Sorbonne in Paris, commented too on Girard's mimetic theory and the scapegoat mechanism that Girard found in his anthropology of religion.
Let's hope a new year will usher the peace of Christ through Christian action and prayer in the global social and political changes of today and tomorrow.
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