Growing up in the 1960's, as with many from my generation, I have a great fondness for the music of that era. What immediately comes to mind, are those songs that advocate peace and harmony for a better world. Among them one such title stands out for me, and that is John Lennon's song, "Imagine."

In his opening lyrics we hear these words;

Imagine there's no countries, it isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for and no religion, too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace.

These are very strong words. But are they meant to be taken literally? Did John Lennon really believe that the world would be a better place without the presence of individual countries? It is true that there have been many examples of conflicts and wars between various nations in the past. However, the examples of mutual cooperation and trust among these very same nations over the years has to leave us with a sense of hope that we have the collective potential to make the world a better and more peaceful place, if we put our minds and hearts together.

Sport events such as World Cup Soccer or the Olympic Games seem to bring out the best in us and foster national pride among individual countries. As does the extraordinary cooperation, exemplified by those countries assisting other nations who have fallen victim to various natural disasters. Generally speaking, when the chips are down, people tend to reach out to others in the midst of a terrible crisis, even to the point of performing heroic acts of bravery. We saw this played out during the 9/11 tragedy and its aftermath. History has shown that there are no real victors in war no matter who comes out on top. Everybody loses something and the biggest casualty is always the enormous loss of human lives.

I truly believe that the world is a far better place to live in and certainly far more interesting because of the diversity and the cultural richness that exists on this tiny little planet in the universe.

What about living in a world where there is no religion? Would we be better off without organized religion? There are many in our world today, who not only support this idea, but they are also strong advocates of this notion. They believe that faith and reason are totally incompatible. There are others, like John Lennon, who would argue that since most religions in general have not really measured up to their potential, we would indeed be better off without them. While there may be some truth to this, I still believe that religion has and will continue to play a critical role in the life of people.

To those who argue that faith and reason are incompatible, I would simply say, take a look at the accomplishments of those in the world of science both in the past and especially more recently. Many of these fine scientific minds are people of faith as well. There are many in the healing profession, doctors and nurses who can attest to the role that prayer has helped in the healing process of their patients. To put it simply, they have seen their share of miracles.

However, religion that is too rigid, that is strictly speaking, authoritarian and that is rooted in a fundamentalist ideology, ceases to be life giving. If anything, it creates division, it is controlling, and it becomes outright dangerous.

On the other hand, religion that fosters a faith, which leads individuals to authentic experiences with the Divine, can lead to profound life transformations. These experiences with a Divine Presence or as I would prefer to say, with the Living God are critical and must be real and be experienced in the very depths of each individual person. Religious belief has to be "heart felt" and not only "head felt." These experiences take place on a daily basis, if we allow ourselves the luxury of stopping to listen, from time to time and become aware of their occurrences. We have to meet God "on the road of life" and not only in our places of worship.

Religion at its best should allow people to experience a true sense of freedom. By that I mean it should help in allowing a person to discover and become the person he or she is meant to be. Religion must be rooted in love and foster love and living life by what so many call the "Golden Rule." It should promote and sustain family life. Finally, religion has the potential of becoming that one true catalyst that can bring about true justice and a lasting peace that all of humanity hungers for. For this to come about religion must be true to its authentic roots and religious leaders, and likewise, it must be faithful to their respective callings. Listen to these words from the revered Jewish theologian and preacher Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel;

"Religion declines not because it was refuted, but because it became irrelevant, dull, oppressive, insipid. When faith is completely replaced by creed, worship by discipline, love by habit; when the crisis of today is ignored because of the splendor of the past; when faith becomes an heirloom rather than a living fountain; when religion speaks only in the name of authority rather than the voice of compassion, its message becomes meaningless."

In my 36 years as a Catholic priest I have met so many extraordinary people of faith from a variety of religious traditions. For the most part, they were ordinary people just like you and me. Some were members of the clergy or religious leaders, some were married men and women, moms and dads, some were very young and some were very wise elders. What stood out for me was their love and their commitment to their religion and their respective faith communities. They not only talked the talk, but they also walked the walk.

Imagine a world where there is finally a lasting peace among all nations not based on human treaties but on mutual trust. Imagine a world where people put others first rather than themselves, where greed is replaced with compassion, and where hatred is replaced with love. Imagine a world where politics and the laws of governments are replaced with the Golden Rule. Imagine a world where all people realize that we all have our origins from the same Creator and that there exists only one race on this tiny planet and that is the human race. Imagine. Imagine.

"You may say I'm a dreamer. But I'm not the only one. I hope someday you will join us. And the world will be one."