A Psalm for an age of terror

I was in chapel tonight, praying before the Blessed Sacrament. I had terrorism sitting in the back of my mind. Earlier in the day, I had seen some scenes that the Beslan terrorists videotaped. They vaunted and swaggered behind their masks, vests, guns, and bombs. I had also read Italian news reports of the kidnapping of two Italian women who work for a humanitarian organization in Iraq. This organization, whose name translates to A Bridge For..., is a pacifist organization that seeks to develop relations between Italy and other countries through cultural exchanges, development, etc. It opposed the sanctions in Iraq, and worked in various capacities in Baghdad throughout the 90s.

As I was praying, I came across Psalm 10. It decribes our troubled times well. From its opening until its end, I was captivated.

The Psalm offers hope (emphasis added):

Why should the wicked scorn God,
say in their hearts, "God doesn't care"?
But you do see;
you do observe this misery and sorrow;
you take the matter in hand.

To our human eyes, it may appear that God does not see; does not act; does not care. No! rejoins the Psalm. The light of faith directs our eyes to the pain of the cross: resurrection is impossible, without a cross. We must keep our eyes fixed on God's love, pray for our enemies, and trust in Providence. God will work miracles if we let him.

You can read biblegateway's NIV translation of Psalm 10, or the NAB translation (from which I took that particular quote).