Pray that the Prince of Peace will bring the peace and justice only he can give. This is a link to picture of a mother who with her children watched her husband being killed in the Kiwanja massacre in the Congo in early November. This is FAITH!
http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2008/12/11/world/20081211CONGO_7.html

I just watched a most inspiring video. It is a video of Brenden Foster, an 11 year old boy who is dying of leukemia. Brendan knew he had two weeks to live. On his way back to the hospital after a treatment, he saw homeless people huddled in a place. He knew he had to do something to help them. “I have to give them something.” Too weak to do anything himself, he enlisted the aid of others. Soon food drives for the homeless flourished in Seattle and then across the country. What a wonderful legacy this 11 year old has left. Watch this inspiring video as another child teaches us http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-vaGctUJJY. Continue reading →

“One promise of his victory is that perhaps we can put to rest the myth of racism as a barrier to achievement in this splendid country.”
This statement is from an editorial in the Wall Street Journal on November 5, 2008. It concerns me greatly because racism in our society is not a myth. Miriam-Websters Online Dictionary defines myth, “a person or thing having only an imaginary or unverifiable existence.” Continue reading →

Something reached out and struck me regarding the reading from the book of Revelation on All Saints. It has something to do with the Lamb. The Lamb has been a central figure in my understanding of Jesus ever since I visited Knock. Mary did not speak. She instead directed our attention to the Lamb on the altar. The one who like the Suffering Servant was led to slaughter. The Lamb won salvation for us not by appeasing an angry father god but rather by his nonviolent response to grave injustice. What got my attention was the 144,000 standing white-robed around the throne of the Creator and the Lamb. They had survived the persecution of the Romans and were now singing “heavenly” hymns and praising the Creator and the Lamb. Glory and honor and power! The Creator promises eternal salvation to those who are faithful to the Lamb. Continue reading →

A recent editorial in the Wall Street Journal bemoaned the fact that the economic crisis might cause America to lose it position of geostrategic dominance in the world. I wrote a response to the editorial on their blog. I think that the rest of the world may be breathing a sigh of relief as they look forward to emancipation from American domination.
We have lived by Manifest Destiny. Somehow or other we concluded that we, out of all the people on earth, have been singled out by the Creator to dominate the world and its resources. Theologically, I cannot conceive of a Creator who would single out one people, one nation at the expense of all others. Christianity and in fact Judaism have always had an inclusive dimension to them. All too often we characterized Christianity as inclusive and Judaism as exclusive. Not so. The Old Testament has some beautiful images about all peoples coming to the holy mountain, to the heavenly banquet. Continue reading →

Today, I read the parable of the Good Samaritan. The thought that immediately came to mind was that there are many wounded people lying by the side of the road in our time and in our economy. We can look as far or as near as we want. We can see the thousands of Mexican farmers lying by the roadside as the result of free trade agreements run amok. We can see the new homeless lying on the side of the roads in Massachusetts. Continue reading →

“As for you, Capernaum, will you exalt yourselves to the skies? No, you will be hurled down to Hades. Anyone who listens to you, listens to me. Anyone who rejects you, rejects me; and those who reject me, reject the One who sent me.: (Lk 10:15-6) Jesus is angry and frustrated. He has just spoken “woes” over Chorazin and Bethsaida because they have not listened and have not repented. Continue reading →

“Am I better off than I was four years ago?” This is the wrong question for Christians. Jesus came to liberate us. He came to liberate us from the tyranny of our false selves—I, moi, me. Jesus lived by towel power. He took the towel and a basin and washed the feet of his disciples. He by example was teaching us to look beyond ourselves and our own petty needs and wants. Discipleship is all about service to one another.
The universe bends toward justice, toward right order and right relationships. Relationships suggests that is it about US. WE are the people of God. WE are church. Continue reading →

The impact of our retreat last weekend is still sinking in. One priest refers to Soaking Prayer (Healing Prayer service) as marinating. We are definitely marinating in God’s love.
By dint of circumstance (The Abbey of the Holy Spirit in Conyers, GA was booked), we ended up at the Abbey of Gethsemani in Kentucky. By further dint of circumstance we booked a retreat and stayed at Bethany Spring. It is a Merton Institute for Contemplative Living retreat center one mile from the Abbey. Then, what was wonderful got even better. Bethany Spring has rooms in the main building—an old farmhouse. It also has two fully equipped hermitage cottages on the lake. We are assigned to the beautiful Emmaus hermitage. It even had a loft bedroom! We knew from the start that we were blessed. Continue reading →

What follows is a letter my wife and I sent to our local newspapers. Feel free to use the letter. You can get poverty level information for the county you live in by Googling county + state + poverty level. Do the same and substitute population. I always find it helpful to use percentages + real numbers; then, it’s not 11.9% but rather 1252 human beings.

Dear Editor,
This summer we have been privileged to have participated in some wonderful conferences that offer hope for the future. First, we attended the Sojourners Training on Voting out Poverty in Washington, DC. (www.voteoutpoverty.com) Sojourners is an evangelical Christian group led by Rev. Jim Wallis. Second, we were delegates to the Convention for the Common Good convened by 17 Catholic groups in Philadelphia. The delegates gave final approval for the Platform for the Common Good. (www.votethecommongood.com)
Before you the reader say well that is evangelical or Catholic stuff, we encourage you to look at one more web site. (http://www.fightingpovertywithfaith.com/) Twenty two groups representing people of all faiths—Christian, Jewish and Islamic—are calling upon us, people of faith, to get serious and do something about poverty. Continue reading →