Peace and Happiness

There is a door to man's heart; it is either closed or open.
When he holds a thing and says, 'This is mine,' he closes the door to his heart; but when he shares his goods with others and says, 'This is yours as well as mine,' this opens his heart.
We must learn consideration for others; it does not matter whether they are rich or poor.
We may have only one slice of bread, but when there is another sitting by our side we share that slice with him.
By doing this, even if our bodily appetite remains unsatisfied, our heart is filled with joy to think that we shared our happiness with another.
It is this spirit which is necessary just now to change the condition of the world, not political and commercial disputes.
We must be awakened to the main truth, that the happiness and peace of each can only be the happiness and peace of all.

The soul feels suffocated when the doors of the heart are closed. -- Bowl of Saki

Remember Love and Tolerance

"We either live under the light of Islam or we die with dignity ... brace yourselves for a long war against the world's infidels and their agents," -- Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.

What A Wonderful World

An Architect Of Peace

I swear I will not dishonor my soul with hatred, but offer myself humbly as a guardian of nature, as a healer of misery, as a messenger of wonder, as an architect of peace.

Diane Ackerman

Holiday Reminder: The Price For Peace On Earth

The Final Inspection

The Marine stood and faced God,
Which must always come to pass.
He hoped his shoes were shining,
Just as brightly as his brass.
'Step forward now, Marine,
How shall I deal with you?
Have you always turned the other cheek?

To My Church have you been true?'
The soldier squared his shoulders and said,
'No, Lord, I guess I ain't.
Because those of us who carry guns,

Can't always be a saint.
I've had to work most Sundays,
And at times my talk was tough.
And sometimes I've been violent,

Because the world is awfully rough.
But, I never took a penny,
That wasn't mine to keep...
Though I worked a lot of overtime,

When the bills got just too steep.
And I never passed a cry for help,
Though at times I shook with fear.
And sometimes, God, forgive me,

I've wept unmanly tears.
I know I don't deserve a place,
Among the people here.
They never wanted me around,

Except to calm their fears
If you've a place for me here, Lord,
It needn't be so grand.
I never expected or had too much,

But if you don't, I'll understand.
There was a silence all around the throne,
Where the saints had often trod.
As the Marine waited quietly,  

For the judgment of his God.
'Step forward now, you Marine,
You've borne your burdens well.
Walk peacefully on Heaven's streets,

You've done your time in Hell.'

~Author Unknown~ 

The Peaceable Kingdom

All of creation belongs together in the arms of its Creator.

The final vision is that not only will all men and women recognize that they are brothers and sisters called to live in unity but all members of God's creation will come together in complete harmony.

Jesus the Christ came to realize that vision.

Long before he was born, the prophet Isaiah saw it:

The wolf will live with the lamb,

the panther lie down with the kid,

calf, lion and fat-stock beast together,

with a little boy to lead them.

The cow and the bear will graze,

their young will lie down together.

The lion will eat hay like the ox.

The infant will play over the den of the adder;

the baby will put his hand into the viper's lair.

No hurt, no harm will be done

on all my holy mountain,

for the country will be full of knowledge of Yahweh

as the waters cover the sea.

(Isaiah 11:6-9)

We must keep this vision alive.

Henri Nouwen

Peace On Earth

Peace is a daily, a weekly, a monthly process, gradually changing opinions, slowly eroding old barriers, and quietly building new structures.  --John F. Kennedy

At times, I can remind myself I am the only one I can change.

I can use what I have learned in recovery to help me.

The more I do this, the easier it gets, and the more peaceful our lives my life become.

Today let me do one thing to eliminate a conflict.

Where There is Charity and Wisdom

Where there is charity and wisdom,
there is neither fear nor ignorance.

Where there is patience and humility,
there is neither anger nor annoyance.

Where there is love and joy,
there is neither greed nor selfishness.

Where there is peace and meditation,
there is neither anxiety nor doubt.

St. Francis of Assisi (paraphrased)

 

~~~ @@ ~~~

Channel Of Peace

Each of us can become a blessed channel of peace for the healing of Earth's wounds:

We can awaken from apathy and find creative,

non-violent ways to transform the abuses rampant in today's world.

 

Nan Merrill with Barbara Taylor
Peace Planet: Light for Our World

 

~~ @@ ~~

Peace

www.gratefulness.org

There is no way to peace.

Peace is the way.
A.J. Muste

शिप्व्रेच्केद इन साउथ कैरोलाइना

Battle Hymn

http://www.greatdanepromilitary.com/Battle%20Hymn/index.htm

On the Journey Towards Living Nonviolently

From HenriNouwen.org

written by MADELINE BURGHART

We live each day surrounded by images of the horrors of our world.
Each week brings stories of a world weary with violence.
How can we not feel powerless in this?
How can we remain committed to a life of nonviolence when so many of the world's ways seem to point in the other direction?

My husband and I were asked to reflect on this dilemma at a recent Christian Peacemaker Teams workshop.
Through preparing for this workshop, we realized that living nonviolently involves two separate yet interconnected practices: an outer, visible witness to a life of peace; and the more hidden, attentive work of being present to the small details of our lives.
The outer practice is more noticeable, and is often more gratifying-who doesn't feel better after participating in a peace march?
And yet, as I learn over and over again, the greatest impact I can have in my tiny world is the way I choose to be present to others and to the world around me.
If, daily, I can speak to my children with absolute patience and listen to them as deeply as I would wish that listening from someone else; if, daily, I refrain from the easier tack of speaking ill of someone in order to appear stronger myself; if, daily, I make choices that cause less damage to this beautiful planet-then I know my journey of nonviolence continues, despite the invisibility of its workings.

In a world so broken, I need to believe that living peacefully, both in the grander picture and in the smallness of my own life, will make some difference to the work of "creating something new in the skin of the old."

MADELINE BURGHART has been connected to L'Arche for twelve years and is presently a house leader with L'Arche Toronto. She lives in the Toronto Catholic Worker community with her husband and three sons.

Intercessions

Hear us, O God our Savior!

For those who are powerless,
-- that they may experience your power employed on their behalf.

For those who have abandoned hope,
-- that they may know your mercy.

For those who fail to see you in mystery,
-- that they may come to feel your gentle love.

In land torn by war,
-- bring a new life through peace.

To families and communities wounded by division,
-- bring a new life through peace.

To the dying and the bereaved suffering under the threat of death,
-- bring a new life through peace.

May the Lord deliver us from all evil and bring us to life everlasting.
Amen.

Excerpted from Magificat, April 2008

A Sign Of Imbalance

A Sign Of Imbalance
Overachieving and Overreaching

Overachievers are people who have achieved but still feel the need to do more, creating an imbalance in their lives.
People who exhibit this behavior may be trying to compensate for feelings of insecurity and doubts about their worth.
They may be chasing unresolved issues from their past into the present, or they might not be looking at their lives as a whole, but judging themselves based only on one aspect of their being.
If this is a word that we’ve heard used with respect to our choices and lifestyle, it is worth examining in order to balance our lives for a more rewarding experience.

If we find that we cannot allow ourselves to experience and enjoy the present moment, putting pleasure off into some distant future, it may be a sign that we are being driven to achieve more than is truly necessary.
Pushing ourselves beyond the point of exhaustion, or to the exclusion of important people in our lives, robs us of true and meaningful joy.
Once we make the connection to the eternal part of us, it can nourish us and allow our priorities to shift from chasing after an elusive feeling to being fully present in the moment so that we can live our lives in the now.

Sometimes we need to look to those we love and admire in order to realize what we value about life.
We can take time to note what we like about others, and then turn the mirror to reflect the light of those same words and feelings toward ourselves.
It can be quite a revelation to see ourselves in this nourishing light.
When we can put the energy that we’ve been devoting to a phantom sense of achievement into the truly satisfying aspects of our lives, we can restore the balance between our inner and outer worlds and experience true joyful peace.

http://www.dailyom.com

Wine Of Peace

Jesus wine of Peace,
wine of love,
may we drink of you,
may we taste your presence,
your promise,
our future.
Drink well and live.
--David Haas,
"Jesus Wine of Peace",
communion hymn

#@#@#@#

The whole life of Christ recapitulates itself ever anew in man.
To live as a Christian means to participate in the re-enactment of Christ’s life.
This happens every time a believer takes a step closer to the Lord, whenever he conquers himself in the course of following Christ.
When he carries out within himself the Lord’s commandment, something dies with him: the old man.
And something rises up: the new man, “made after the fashion of Christ.”
Christ rises within him.

And so on, ever the same.
Until such time as there slowly grows up within him “the glory of a child of God,” “made after the image and likeness of Christ,” at first invisible, concealed, covered over with ashes and debris, frustrated, imperiled; but then gradually growing stronger until finally it is revealed, after this death, and the old man drops away forever.

That is Christ’s love: that he lives in us in this way, and we in him, and what is his and what is ours becomes one.
That is what Christ’s love is: the love of the Redeemer who dies for us; the love which bestows itself , which gives its all, body and soul, for his life becomes our life, and ours his.

That is what Christ’s love is.
And it only in the light that shines hence that all else that had to do with love in his life takes on clarity in the plan or design of Christ’s love: how he called to himself the weary and oppressed that he might comfort them; how he took unto himself all the sufferings of mankind, bringing relief; how he showed tenderness for all living things, plants and animals: the first kind of love we spoke of shows in all these instances.
That is the love that is revealed in them.

-- Monsignor Romano Guardini

Monsignor Guardini († 1968) was born in Italy and was a renowned theologian and writer.

#@#@#@#

The Whole Vision Of Jesus

I believe that what is important today is that we uncover the violence within us and discover that under the violence there is something very beautiful.
One of the questions that always comes up is, “What do we fear?”
One of the questions that I like to ask all the people of our communities is, “What are you most frightened of? Is it fear of not being loved? Is it fear of death?”
What is it that we’re frightened of?
Because from fear and anguish can rise hat and from hate can rise war.

We must learn how to look into our fears because we cannot let ourselves be controlled by fear.
We have to look our fears right in the face and we can’t always do it by ourselves.
We need to be helped, because if we can’t look death and failure in the face, well, then we can never live because to live means to risk, to do things, to have projects which might fail, which might go wrong.
We cannot be totally secure for everything; we must discover inside ourselves this power that we have been given to receive the Holy Spirit, not alone, but with others in community, to decide to go forward and to risk things.
The Word became flesh and dwelt amongst us and we see that the whole vision of Jesus is bringing people together.

-- Jean Vanier

Jean Vanier is the founder of l’Arche, an international network of communities for the mentally disabled.

#@#@#@#

On the Journey Towards Living With Reverence

written by VICTORIA S. SCHMIDT

A few months ago while traveling in Thailand I visited the Fatima Self-Help Center, run by the Good Shepherd Sisters.
The Center invites women from the slums to learn a variety of trades, like hairstyling, sewing, embroidery, and weaving, which give them with an opportunity to support their families.
The Sisters also provide a day-care program for children from the slums.

In the afternoon the children were lining up after school.
Just before leaving the grounds, these Buddhist children stopped in front of a prominent statue of Mary and sang a lovely hymn to her.
I was puzzled that Buddhist children were singing a hymn to Mary, a traditionally Catholic practice.
When I inquired, I was told, "Buddhists honor the spirit in every house."
I was amazed at this profound and crystal-clear truth, spoken in such a matter-of-fact tone.

What if the world were to honor the spirit in every heart, in every house, in every religious denomination?
What if each of us honored the faith of every tradition and welcomed all their followers as brothers and sisters?
That spells peace on earth to me.
The irony is that children modeled it effortlessly, yet learned adults find it impossible to fathom.

On my journey toward living with reverence, I will remember this truth and honor the spirit in every heart.
This is the peace and oneness that I believe God aches for us to understand.

-- #@#@#@# --

- VICTORIA S. SCHMIDT lives in Springfield, Illinois. She has a missionary heart that has been formed by thirty years of missionary work around the world. She currently serves as Director of Theresian World Ministry, an international Catholic women's organization.

A Franciscan Christmas Blessing for Justice and Peace

From a secular Franciscan and a friend:

May God bless you with discomfort…at easy answers, hard hearts,half-truths ,and superficial relationships.

May God bless you so that you may live from deep within your heart where God's Spirit dwells.

May God bless you with anger…at injustice, oppression,and exploitation of people.

May God bless you so that you may work for justice, freedom, and peace.

May God bless you with tears…to shed for those who suffer from pain,rejection, starvation and war.

May God bless you so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and turn their pain into joy.

And may God bless you with enough foolishness to believe that you can make a difference in this world, in your neighborhood,so that you will courageously try what you don't think you can do, but, in Jesus Christ you'll have all the strength necessary.

May God bless you to fearlessly speak out about injustice,unjust laws, corrupt politicians,unjust and cruel treatment of prisoners, and senseless wars, genocides, starvations, and poverty that is so pervasive.

May God bless you that you remember we are all called to continue God's redemptive work of love and healing in God's place, in and through God's name, in God's Spirit, continually creating and breathing new life and grace into everything and everyone we touch.

"Troubadour: A Missionary Magazine," published by the Franciscan Missionary Society, Liverpool, UK: Spring 2005.

Grow Still And Silent

In his exploration of the movement through the dark night of the soul to union with God, St. John of the Cross used the imagery of a house grown still and silent to describe the soul so centered in God by prayer that it is free to leave self behind and become absorded in the presence of the promised Prince of Peace.
From this inward stillness flows the outward peace for which the world longs.

Anticipating the Vision

The marvelous vision of the peaceable Kingdom, in which all violence has been overcome and all men, women, and children live in loving unity with nature, calls for its realisation in our day-to-day lives.
Instead of being an escapist dream, it challenges us to anticipate what it promises.

Every time we forgive our neighbor,
every time we make a child smile,
every time we show compassion to a suffering person,
every time we arrange a bouquet of flowers,
offer care to tame or wild animals,
prevent pollution,
create beauty in our homes and gardens,
and work for peace and justice among peoples and nations
we are making the vision come true.

We must remind one another constantly of the vision.
Whenever it comes alive in us we will find new energy to live it out, right where we are.
Instead of making us escape real life,
this beautiful vision gets us involved.

-- Henri Nouwen