“Perhaps this is the truest resistance to empire, the one we must first cultivate within ourselves—to choose vulnerability over violence, peace over power, love over fear.”
—Kat Armas, Liturgies for Resisting Empire: Seeking Community, Belonging, and Peace in a Dehumanizing World our Lift Every Voice Book Club selection for March and April
What within yourself needs dismantling to make space to become whole?
Read or view our conversation with the author here.
Verse of the day
We are afflicted in every way but not crushed, perplexed but not driven to despair, persecuted but not forsaken, struck down but not destroyed.
– 2 Corinthians 4:8-9
Voice of the day
Don’t ever be surprised to see a rose shoulder up among the ruins of the house: This is how we survived.
– Mosab Abu Toha, “A Rose Shoulders Up”
Prayer of the day
Christ our cornerstone, if we are forced to start anew, make a new way from the remnants of what is lost.
“Ultimately your heart is the inner temenos and sanctuary space. It is where the ancient mystics tell us the spark of the divine dwells. It is where we can retreat to and savor the experience of being, of being held, of being met exactly as we are.”
—Christine Valters Paintner, PhD, Birthing the Holy: Wisdom from Mary to Nurture Creativity and Renewal
What do you savor in the deepest sanctuary space of your heart?
To register for the self-study, companion retreat to the book with extra resources and guidance, click here.
A culture of encounter and dialogue, marked by wisdom, insight, and breadth of vision, is essential for building a more just and fraternal world. — Against War: Building a Culture of Peace, p. 49
No one can be indifferent to the pain of millions of men and women whose sufferings trouble our consciences today. No one can turn a deaf ear to the plea of our brothers and sisters in need. No one can turn a blind eye to the ruin caused by a culture incapable of dialogue. I ask you to join in praying each day for the conversion of hearts and for the triumph of a culture of life, reconciliation, and fraternity: a fraternity that can recognize and respect diversity in the quest for a common destiny. — Against War: Building a Culture of Peace, p. 43
There is a need to break down the climate of distrust that risks leading to a dismantling of the international arms control framework. We are witnessing an erosion of multilateralism that is all the more serious in light of the growth of new forms of military technology. Such an approach seems highly incongruous in today’s context of interconnectedness; it represents a situation that urgently calls for the attention and commitment of all leaders. — Against War: Building a Culture of Peace, p. 42
Too many people are suffering in the world today. Too many innocent people are being killed. And I think someone has to stand up and say, there’s a better way than this. — Soundbite from NPR All Things Considered, April 15, 2026
The arms race wastes precious resources that could be better used to benefit the integral development of peoples and to protect the natural environment. In a world where millions of children and families live in inhumane conditions, the money that is squandered and the fortunes made through the manufacture, upgrading, maintenance, and sale of ever more destructive weapons are an affront crying out to heaven. — Against War: Building a Culture of Peace, pp. 41-42
Verse of the day
Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these.
– Luke 12:27
Voice of the day
The more clearly we can focus our attention on the wonders and realities of the universe about us, the less taste we shall have for destruction.
– Rachel Carson
Prayer of the day
Wondrous God, fuel our appetite to learn about the natural glories of this world to resist the attempts at its ruination.
“There’s the legend that St. Brigid and her community kept a perpetual flame going for hundreds of years. What does it mean to be a keeper of the flame of our own process, of our own journey? And it takes actually a community to keep that fire alight.”
–Christine Valters Paintner, PhD, Sacred Rhythms of Sky, Sun, Sea & Stone: A Creative, Online, Self-Study Retreat with the Elements
What is the flame you keep alight? Who is your community with whom you keep watch?
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