“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 →

In Matthew’s Gospel (Chapter 11), Jesus lays some “woe tos” on the towns. It must have been especially painful for Jesus to condemn Capernaum, his dearly beloved home town, for failing to listen to his message. The residents of these towns were not getting it. They did not grasp the message that Jesus was putting forth.
Often, as Catholics, we have not got Jesus’ message. As Sr. Helen Prejean said recently, “We have tamed Jesus. Where is the wild in Jesus?” It was in the Jesus movement for the first three centuries. Then, Instead of converting Constantine, Constantine converted the church. He domesticated Jesus. Tamed him! We have paid the price ever since. Instead of standing over against empires and challenging them based on the real teachings of Jesus, we have got in bed with empire. We have grown prosperous and powerful. We have failed to get the message of Jesus. We have watered down the Good News. Continue reading →

In the last two months, I have been doing a lot of work in our church and community for peace and justice issues. Last month, I taught four sessions on the Nonviolence of Jesus in our church. I presented a day of reflection on Walking with Jesus, Micah, and Gandhi for our vicariate. I am currently teaching four sessions on living nonviolently in the Institute for Continuous Learning at Young Harris College.
Ever since Father John Dear inspired Joan and I to become followers of the nonviolent Jesus and the God of Peace in a retreat at Kirkridge, I have been slowly (too slowly at times) growing in my understanding of the Gospel of Peace. Presently, I have come to understand that nonviolence is a way of life which demands total commitment. It is not a tactic for getting what you want. It is not a technique. It is a WAY OF LIFE. To put it another way, Gandhi’s satyagraha (nonviolence, or better “truth force”) is getting up close and very personal. Gandhi’s entire life was An Experiment in Truth. Continue reading →