During World War II, the town of Hammerfest in Norway was completely burned, because the Germans thought that the little town was filled with English spies. There was a small Catholic community with a few Catholics, a priest and a few nuns. But their church was also burned down, no mercy was spared. After the war was over, the town was rebuilt, but the few Catholics could not afford to build another church. Some German soldiers heard about this story and on the order of their superiors, and realizing that it was their fault that no place of worship was available for the Catholic community of Hammerfest, they rolled up their sleeves to help.
Thankfully, with the help of their German Catholic friends, they were able to build them a new church, complete with stained-glass windows crafted in Germany. From an episode of hatred, destruction and war, came this story of peace, collaboration and friendship that lasted to this day. Maybe we can learn from this story that it’s better to shake hands in love and friendship rather than show fists of anger towards each other.
No comments:
Post a Comment