In his commentary on the Book of Ezekiel, Fr. Berrigan wrote the following about Ezekiel’s vision of the valley of dry bones.
…he [Ezekiel] allows room for a touch of madness, surrounded as we are by evidence of insanity in high places—addictions to death-dealing, domination, greed, ego, the forms of death that govern authority high and low today. Ezekiel, truth-teller, points to another way. He resists every attempt to be “normalised, by wicked authority,” “assimilated” by the world. He will not grow spiritually sodden; no business as usual, no war as usual, no waste and want as usual, no religious rote and rot as usual. God, he declares, has another, far different, hope for creation, for ourselves. For the “widow and orphan,” the abused and condemned and forgotten, those who count for little or nothing, “lives of no value.” And we, the beneficiaries of such sanity, so talismanic an ancestor, can only give thanks. — Daniel Berrigan: Essential Writings, pp. 252-253
Fr. Berrigan wrote that the prophet and truth-teller points to another way. What if that way was love? Transformative love that changes lives. Love that changes vision in order for us to see our enemies as our sibling instead. Love that helps us to agree to disagree while still working together to help the most vulnerable in the world.
Perhaps then we can do something positive for the community and the world. I believe that these words from Martin Luther King, Jr. may well hold the key to such a transformation. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
This is my hope… this is my prayer. Darkness transformed into light and hatred transformed into love. Dear reader, will you join me in that prayer and work? From our lips to God’s ear may we pray.
Verse of the day
Then Rizpah the daughter of Aiah took sackcloth and spread it on a rock for herself, from the beginning of harvest until rain fell on them from the heavens; she did not allow the birds of the air to come on the bodies by day or the wild animals by night.
– 2 Samuel 21:10
Voice of the day
I am sick of war. Every woman of my generation is sick of war. Fifty years of war. Wars rumored, wars beginning, wars fought, wars ending, wars paid for, wars endured.
– Josephine Winslow Johnson
Prayer of the day
God, hear the outcry of your people inundated with violence and complicity to it. Galvanize us into articulating outrage into action.
I can easily hear Fr. Louis saying this today….
If only our foreign politics made sense! But we have nobody in it who knows what he is doing: or if one or two know, they are still impotent. — Turning Toward the World: The Pivotal Years (The Journals of Thomas Merton, Volume 4: 1960-1963), June 20, 1960
Verse of the day
If we say that we have fellowship with him while we are walking in darkness, we lie and do not do what is true.
– 1 John 1:6
Voice of the day
Strange things are happening in this land, and only when the truth is widely known, can we put a stop to them.
– Luisa Moreno
Prayer of the day
Spirit of Truth, cast aside any willful ignorance toward what is happening in this land. Counsel us to act as we face what we know now.
When we struggle for human rights, for freedom, for dignity, when we feel that it is a ministry of the church to concern itself for those who are hungry, for those who have no schools, for those who are deprived, we are not departing from God’s promise. He comes to free us from sin, and the church knows that sin’s consequences are all such injustices and abuses. The church knows it is saving the world when it undertakes to speak also of such things. — The Violence of Love
“Even the word ‘God’ is problematic because it carries with it so many interpretations and limits based on our cultural understandings. We are called to let go of ‘God’ in the service of meeting the Great Mystery of the divine beyond our understanding.”
–Christine Valters Paintner, PhD, A Different Kind of Fast: Feeding Our True Hungers in Lent
What images of God do you hold? Are they open enough to allow space for Divine Unknowing and Mystery?
To register for the self-study companion retreat to the book with extra resources and guidance click here.
Since conditions that favor the outbreak of wars are once again increasing, I can only reiterate that war is the negation of all rights and a dramatic assault on the environment. If we want true integral human development for all, we must work tirelessly to avoid war between nations and peoples. — Against War: Building A Culture Of Peace, p. 25
…there are those who seek solutions in war, frequently fueled by a breakdown in relations, hegemonic ambitions, abuses of power, fear of others, and a tendency to see diversity as an obstacle. War is not a ghost from the past but a constant threat. — Against War: Building A Culture Of Peace, p. 25
“St. Cuthbert would stand in the sea and pray all night long, and when he came out in the morning, the otters would be there to dry off his feet and keep them warm.”
–Christine Valters Paintner, PhD, Virtual Celtic Pilgrimage: The Wisdom of Saints Colman, Sourney, and Patrick — A Self-Study, Online Retreat
Pay attention to the way creation and creatures venture to be in relationship with you. How you might offer friendship in return?
The voice is very sensitive. It can be very quiet. It is sometimes hard to hear. But the voice of love is already in you. You may have already heard it. Start trying to hear that voice. Get quiet and spend some time trying to hear it. Listen. It says, “I love you,” and calls you by name. It says, “Come, come. Follow me.” — Following Jesus: Finding Our Way Home in an Age of Anxiety
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