De Profundis

De profundis clamavi ad te, Domine. Out of the depths, I call to you, Lord. So begins the extraordinary prayer of Spain's ambassador to the US, Javier Ruperez, offered for the victims of the Madrid terrorist attack at St. Matthew's Cathedral in Washington. Reprinted in today's Wall Street Journal ($), the prayer includes an encomium for democracy:

"[W]e owe them, and we owe it to ourselves, the resounding and decisive reaffirmation, as if it were a Ten Commandments of civic faith, regarding the elemental truths which convene us here: that there is no cause or justification which allows or explains the use of blind and indiscriminate violence; that the dignity of human beings and the rights stemming from it are imprescriptible; that democracy is the best system to guarantee them; that the tolerance preached and practiced by that system is the result of centuries of suffering and learning; that the terrorists, no matter where they are, whatever their claims or ideologies, are not merely the murderers of bodies, but also, and especially, the Beelzebubs of modern times, determined to send us back to the darkness of the ages without a name."

He concludes:

"Lord, from the depths of our despair, I ask you to enlighten us in leading this apocalyptic battle, I ask you to provide us clarity in the purposes and perseverance in the effort to attain them, I ask you to bestow strength to all of the peoples of the earth who suffer from the blight of terrorism, so that they may never think that by yielding they can crush the beast, so that they may never abdicate their rights, so that they may never barter their freedom. And I also ask you that your power and mercy free us, in the future, from what we are suffering today. From the depths of our abandonment, Lord, you who are truth and life, in memory of all of the victims of terrorism, hear our heartbreaking prayer."

Amen.