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Saturday 1 November 2008

The evils of Nookyaler War

As the Specific Intercessions wax and wane in their claim on generality, I find that we have some lay readers who share our commander in chief's command of English pronunciation, though not among their number, I am pleased to say, is the girl of 7 or 8 whom I heard at the school Mass.
But I wonder, can I ask, without being accused of being "in favor of" nuclear war, if it kills you deader than any other war?
Does the fact of a war's utilizing nuclear means make the deaths resulting from it more horrific than those suffered by the cannon fodder of the Civil War, or WW I?
Are the civilian casualties more ghastly in Hiroshima than the Battles of Berlin or Britain, or the Rape of Nankin, or the Siege of Leningrad?
Does the sickening prospect of enormous numbers of dead increase in its sick-making ability and its enormity if they are to be from nuclear weaponry, rather than drowning as at Salsu?
I think there's too much effort to make the General Intercessions catechetical moments, and not enough cognizance that they are prayers.
Making prayers too specific seems to me to betray a lack of trust in the Almighty's knowing what's best...
Save us, O Lord.
We won't specify the dangers, You know them and we might leave something out, we won't specify the remedies, we defer to Your judgment we don't always have the best perspective on that, O Lord.
Just please save us, O Lord.
ALL of us, O Lord.

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