Even though we are enjoying a wonderful vacation in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada there is always a reminder that the world with all of its hatred fueled by fear and the lies of those who would “whitewash” history. I am proud of Vancouver for being honest with its past and actually trying to make a difference as the province’s journey of repentance and reconciliation continues
It wasn’t easy… the sort of change that we need to make in the US and in other countries around the world. As I write this, we are sitting in a Ukrainian restaurant… Ukraine, a country that some would have obliterated physically and spiritually. The people of Ukraine are a reminder to me that the change that ensures freedom from oppression and independence is not easy.
Yesterday’s reading from Thomas Merton’s journals (volume five, Dancing in the Water of Life) speaks to an earlier era where the same concerns that I have today, Merton had in May, 1965.
The hills are blue and hot. There is a brown, dusty field in the bottom of the valley. I hear a machine, a bird, a clock. The clouds are high and enormous. In them, the inevitable jet plane passes: this time probably full of fat passengers from Miami to Chicago, but presently it will be a plane with a bomb in it. I have seen the plane with the bomb in it fly low over me, and I have looked up out of the woods directly at the closed bay. Like everyone else, I live under the bomb. A Year with Thomas Merton: Daily Meditations from His Journals (Kindle, pages 182-183)
Yes, we still live under the bomb… only the bomb today isn’t always nuclear… it is the bomb of racism, of hatred, of fear, and the worshipping of guns. Lord knows it isn’t easy but we must try and we must succeed in making this world a world of peace and a world of justice grounded in the love of all without any “qualifiers.” As Merton said in a letter to Dorothy Day, Our job is to love others without stopping to inquire whether or not they are worthy.
A must read if you are concerned about the epidemic of gun violence, christian nationalism, and white supremacy in the US.
…In the Hebrew Bible, there are 36 commands to welcome the stranger (versus only two to “love your neighbor”). The language of “stranger,” more so than “neighbor,” connotes someone who is totally other, unknown, and unfamiliar. Yet I’m called to welcome them unconditionally, without knowing their name, identity, or anything about them. The stranger is unassimilable and can’t be reduced to my knowledge of them (much like God).
— Read on sojo.net/articles/i-was-stranger-and-you-shot-me
Verse of the day
I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you.
– Psalm 32:8
Voice of the day
When we see our neighbors cold, hungry, and suffering, we are taught not to turn a blind eye to that suffering, but to make a difference. Every day, teachers and school support staff see the suffering of their students. Instead of ignoring it, they made it part of their fight.
– Don V. Villar, “Chicago Teachers Strike to Uplift Their Students”
Prayer of the day
O, God, you are the Great Teacher, the Ultimate Creator, the Divine Encourager, the Tender Comforter, the Eternally Patient Guide. Everything we need to be for our students, you already are.
– Tammy Stallcup, “A Teacher’s Prayer”
“Justice is not a natural part of the lifecycle of the United States, nor is it a product of evolution; it is always the outcome of struggle.” — Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, From #BlackLives Matter to Black Liberation
“The sea is a metaphor for the dangers of life, the risks we take, and the storms we face. Mary [Star of the Sea] becomes a symbol of safety and safe harbor, a place we can return to when waves becomes too rough.”
— Christine Valters Paintner, PhD Birthing the Holy: Wisdom from Mary to Nurture Creativity and Renewal
Where or with whom do you find safe harbor?
To register for the self-study companion retreat to the book with extra resources and guidance click here>>
Verse of the day
For the scripture says, “You shall not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain” and “The laborer deserves to be paid.”
– 1 Timothy 5:18
Voice of the day
Yet, wages are an ever-evolving struggle, and workers desperately need people to show up and stand on their side to demand a living wage. When wages are $8, $10, and $11 an hour, workers aren’t worth their wage; they’re worth far more.
– Matt Bernico, “Wage Against the Machine”
Prayer of the day
On this International Workers Day, we remember that a worker is worth their wages. In a world built on systems that exploit workers, may we fight for and affirm the dignity of all who labor.
Dear God,
I am so afraid to open my clenched fists! Who will I be when I have nothing left to hold on to? Who will I be when I stand before you with empty hands? Please help me to gradually open my hands and to discover that I am not what I own, but what you want to give me. And what you want to give me is love—unconditional, everlasting love.
Amen.
“When there is a long violent conflict, often the victims feel they have their dignity taken from them. What we hope to do—what the peace process has to do—is recognize their humanity and place the victims, rather than the perpetrators or militaries or political leaders back at the center. The victims are the protagonists. This shift in perspective is crucial for making lasting peace.”—Josefina Echavarria Alvarez
Sometimes (excerpt)
Sometimes I awake
and read the news,
and want to hold the world
as far away as possible.
— Christine Valters Paintner, PhD Love Holds You: Poems and Devotions for Times of Uncertainty (forthcoming from Paraclete Press May 9th!)
What challenges your ability to love the world?
Register for the free book launch on May 8th!
I am looking forward to the release of wonderful new book of poetry from Christine Valters Paintner!
Thomas Merton wrote the following words in an article he was asked to write for the magazine “Commonwealth” in 1961. Even though the article was discussing the Nuclear Arms Race, I find his words prophetically relevant sixty-two years later.
We have to become aware of the poisonous effect of the mass media that keep violence, cruelty, and sadism constantly present in the minds of uninformed and irresponsible people. We have to recognize the danger to the whole world in the fact that today the economic life of the more highly developed nations is centered largely on the production of weapons, missiles, and other engines of destruction… We have to recognize the implications of voting for politicians who promote policies of hate. (Passion for Peace: Reflections on War and Nonviolence, pp. 57-58)
William H. Shannon, the book’s editor, wrote the following in his introduction to the chapter “Nuclear War and Christian Responsibility.” Merton’s views weren’t popular within the church and nation. Shannon wondered how Merton felt while dealing with the censors within his order and the greater church. These various rewrites also indicate something of the anguish, anxiety, and loneliness Merton experienced in presenting the positions he felt obliged to take. (p. 41)
In a world that is so fractured by division, mistrust, hatred, and fear; his words cut right to the core of the matter which is the chaos that has become human community. Battle lines are drawn and sides are arming up for war. The war of words can quickly escalate into a literal battle of arms. In a day and time where the idea of shooting first without considering other options is commonplace, the fears are being stoked by so many.
It is at times like this where I wrestle with my own responsibility to challenge what is all too commonplace today. I often feel my own anguish, anxiety, and loneliness while I wrestle with how to stay informed without being swept overboard by the tsunami that is the 24-hour news/opinion cycle. The whole mess is overwhelming for me to say the very least. Yet when I feel like withdrawing from the chaos and hiding away, I hear the words of Jim Finley, a clinical psychologist and former novice at the Abbey of Our Lady of Gethsemane, who studied under Merton, as he described a teaching moment with Merton. He had come in to see Merton and was complaining about something. Merton told him: You didn’t come here to breathe the rarified air beyond the suffering of this world. You were brought here by God to experience the suffering of the whole world in your heart. Otherwise there’s no justification in living in a place like this. (John Paul, a song from Alana Levandoski’s album, Point Vierge)
To take on the suffering of the whole world in your heart… that’s a pretty hefty task to be given. However, just as Merton wasn’t the only monk in the world with this task, you and I dear reader, aren’t alone in this call to make a difference in the world today. Will you join me? By the grace of God, we will have the strength to do this together.
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