I once saw a high school teacher lead a simple, powerful exercise to teach his class about privilege and social mobility. He started by giving each student a scrap piece of paper and asked them to crumple it up. Then he moved the recycling bin to the front of...
Justice, Peace & Integrity of Creation
Blame
Empathy – another thought
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Ensure humanity is served by wealth not ruled by it.
Pope’s Message to World Economic Forum “I ask you to ensure that humanity is served by wealth and not ruled by it.” Pope Francis has sent a message to the World Economic Forum in Davos, delivered by Cardinal Peter Turkson, president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace,...
The Only Choice – Sustainable Living
We only really have one choice. That choice is to live more sustainably. I’d be very imprudent to live outside of my budget. I’d quickly go broke and end up destitute. So how is it that we have this idea that the resources of our home, this planet, are...
Because Who Is Perfect?
You’ve never seen designs quite like this profound idea. It’s guaranteed to open your mind to beauty and gratitude.
Religion is for the sake of divine union, not social order
This is so insightful. How often do we miss the true meaning and purpose of religion. Richard Rohr’s Daily Meditation 27th September 2013 In the divine economy of grace, sin and failure become the base metal and raw material for the redemption experience itself. Much of organized religion, however,...
Incarnation
“Jesus has no hands but ours.” Teresa of Avila
Love – a way of looking
“Love is not a matter of looking at each other, but of looking together in the same direction.” Antoine de Saint-Exupery
Fanaticism – why pick on Islam?
I received an email recently entitled, “A German’s View on Islam”, and was about to send it off to others, because what it says about fanaticism and the silent majority seemed poignant at this time. But two things caused me to question its integrity; firstly, the original article has...
Words of Justice
“In the absence of justice, what is sovereignty but organized robbery?” St. Augustine “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this...
Land of the fair go takes refuge from the helpless
Sydney Morning Herald October 19, 2012 by Waleed Aly, Illustration: Rocco Fazzari So this is what ”no advantage” looks like. We’ve barely got going sending asylum seekers to Nauru, and already there has been an attempted suicide. By hanging, according to the psychiatrist who reported it. The end result...
Nonviolent Resistance Works
The facts are in: Nonviolent resistance works by John Dear S.J. On the Road to Peace National Catholic Reporter, October 16, 2012 ‘Nonviolence is fine as long as it works,’ Malcolm X once said. Recently, Columbia University Press published an extraordinary scholarly book that proves how nonviolence works far...
What Martin Luther King Jr. can teach us about nonviolence
On the Road to Peace John Dear SJ, National Catholic Reporter, January 17, 2012 To mark Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday, I’ve been reflecting on the principles of nonviolence that he learned during the historic yearlong bus boycott in Montgomery, Ala. After Rosa Parks refusal to sit in...
Memorial slights prophetic, daring King
A 30-foot sculpture of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. is to be unveiled at a memorial to the civil rights leader on the National Mall in Washington. National Catholic Reporter, October 14, 2011 – Colman McCarthy I bet that the inscriptions sculpted in granite would not include the...
Rumbek mourns Bishop Ceasere Mazzolari
Rumbek, South Sudan, mourns its Bishop Ceasere Mazzolari, a tireless man of God. On Saturday July 16th the Bishop of Rumbek, South Sudan, Bishop Ceasere Mazzolari died. The 74 year old Italian Comboni missionary suffered a seizure during the celebration of morning Mass. With the help of the religious...
Vilification of Refugees & Asylum Seekers
Nero’s Fire by Jim Rigby, in Common Dreams.org July 2, 2011 At a gathering on World Refugee Day, we remembered the 1,900 people deported or detained last year from Austin. Friends and family gathered to weep for their missing loved ones. We spoke about the private prisons springing like...
China Bans Reincarnation Without Government Permission
From The Huffington Post In one of history’s more absurd acts of totalitarianism, China has banned Buddhist monks in Tibet from reincarnating without government permission. According to a statement issued by the State Administration for Religious Affairs, the law, which goes into effect next month and strictly stipulates the...
Empathy towards asylum seekers
A Crack in the Wall of Xenophobia by Ross Gittins, Sydney Morning Herald, February 23, 2011 Attitudes towards asylum seekers may be impervious to rational argument but not to emotion. Scientists used to think that chimpanzees – our close relatives – were a gentle, peace-loving species, until they observed...
Egyptian Christians and Muslims in Unity
When Egyptian Coptic Christians were attacked some weeks ago, it was Egyptian Muslims who surrounded their church to protect them – an inspiring display of human generosity and unity. In this photo Egyptian Muslims kneel to pray in Tahrir Square, while Christians link arms to protect them. “If your...