July 2008

What is one way we can join with other faith groups to promote justice and peace?

An Episcopal Litany for Social Justice – an invitation to prayer

The national Episcopal Church shares this litany based on the Millennium Development Goals. They invite us to join them in prayer.
 
LEADER: Brothers and Sisters, God commands us through Jesus to love one another. In Baptism, we promise to “seek and serve Christ in all people, loving our neighbor as ourselves and to strive for justice and peace, and respect the dignity of every human being.” Let us now pray for our nation in this election season, for wise and just leaders, and for the needs of others throughout our country and world. We pray for continued blessings on all peacemakers, on leaders who value peace, and on everyone who promotes nonviolent solutions to conflict. We pray for a speedy end to all violence and warfare around the world.

RESPONSE: God of peace and gentleness, hear our prayer.

LEADER: We pray for the strength of heart and mind to look beyond ourselves and address the needs of our brothers and sisters throughout the world; for the rural and urban poor, for the rebuilding of our communities; and for an end to the cycles of violence that threaten our future.

RESPONSE: God of generosity and compassion, hear our prayer.

LEADER: We pray for all nations, that they may live in unity, peace and concord, and that all people may know justice and enjoy the perfect freedom that only God can give.

RESPONSE: God of liberty and freedom, hear our prayer.

LEADER: We pray that the Holy Spirit may embrace the most vulnerable members of our society; we pray also for an end to the growing disparity between the rich and the poor; and for the grace and courage to strive for economic justice.

RESPONSE: God of all gifts and blessings, hear our prayer.

LEADER: We pray for an end to prejudice throughout our country and the world; that we will respect all people as precious children of God; and that racism, sexism and all forms of discrimination will be forever banished from our hearts, our society and our lives.

RESPONSE: God of fellowship and equality, hear our prayer.

LEADER: We pray for a reverence of creation; that we will have the tools and the will to conserve it; that we will use its beautiful resources in the service of others; and that we will become better stewards of all that has been entrusted to us.

RESPONSE: God of nature and the universe, hear our prayer.

LEADER:  We pray for all immigrants, refugees and pilgrims from around the world, that they may be welcomed in our midst and be treated with fairness, dignity and respect.

RESPONSE: God of outcasts and wanderers, hear our prayer.

LEADER: We pray for the sick, the aged and the infirm; for those with physical and mental disabilities; that all may have access to proper health care; and that God’s loving embrace may be felt by all who suffer.

RESPONSE: God of comfort and healing, hear our prayer.

LEADER: We pray for all prisoners and captives, that a spirit of forgiveness may replace vengeance and retribution; and that we, with all the destitute, lonely and oppressed may be restored to the fullness of God’s grace.

RESPONSE: God of absolution and mercy, hear our prayer.

LEADER: We pray for all children and families, and particularly for the orphaned, neglected, abused, and those who live in fear of violence or disease; that they may be relieved and protected.

RESPONSE: God of children and families, hear our prayer.

LEADER: We pray for the reconciliation of all people, and for the church throughout the world, that it may be an instrument of your healing love.

RESPONSE:  God of outreach and restoration, hear our prayer.

LEADER:  We pray for all who have died as a result of violence, war, disease or famine, especially those who died because of human blindness, neglect or hardness of heart.

RESPONSE: God of eternal life and resurrecting love, hear our prayer.

ALL: Almighty God, you have promised to hear what we ask in the name of your Son, Jesus. Watch over our country now and in the days ahead, guide our leaders and all who will select leaders, in all knowledge and truth and make your ways known among all people. In the passion of debate give them a quiet spirit; in the complexities of the issues give them courageous hearts. Accept and fulfill our petitions, we pray, not as we ask in our ignorance, nor as we deserve in our sinfulness, but as you know and love us in your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

June 2008

Find Peace in the Midst of Life's Challenges

S. Brenda Walsh

Recently I saw a cartoon that showed an older man conversing with his health professional. His question was this: “How can I be over the hill? I cannot even get up the hill.” Perhaps he could not climb up the hill in a physical sense but he could do it in a symbolic or attitudinal sense. How did he view his limitations? Did he see them as a curse or as a blessing?

Frequently people experience pain, loss of mobility, serious illness, and get stuck in fear or hopelessness and see no way out.  Pain and suffering are universal experiences which all of us must bear at one time or another. They can be at a personal level, such as loss of a family member, failing health, job loss or a life dream that has not been realized. The question may persist: “How could this happen to me? Where is God in this mess?”

They can also be experienced at a broader, global level, such as in situations where there is total devastation due to war, environmental tragedy or other disasters resulting in great human suffering. Some feel a sense of powerlessness, being unable to do anything substantial about the pain. By joining together with other groups, one can make a big difference. By responding in this way, the results for the people in pain will be broader than our own efforts. The divine power can work through even our smallest actions done with love and compassion.  

How do we handle such experiences? We can be totally overwhelmed by our personal experience or by world events. We can also find peace and strength in pain and setbacks and navigate our way through the challenges.

Peace and hope start in the mind, in how we view what is going on in our lives. They don’t come from distractions or entertainment to block out the pain. They will spring up  within our minds, hearts and spirits and from the deep assurance that God holds us close in the midst of our suffering. 

What can we do to discover the blessing in the midst of our pain and loss?

Start with a sense of gratefulness for one’s own life. Abraham Joshua Heschel reminds us that “Just to be is a blessing. Just to live is holy.”
Take time out to reflect on how we understand and name the challenge we are facing. It is natural to feel upset, sad, or even overwhelmed by the experience.
Take quiet time to get in touch with our faith.  Experience the presence of God who never lets us walk alone. Know the assurance of God’s love for us, who offers us peace even in the darkest times. We may not see our own way, but there is a divine purpose in each event in our lives. Recently a man shared a very moving story that illustrates this point. He spent his early years with gangs and was involved in drugs and other negative activities. Suddenly he was stricken with very serious health problems and wondered how to handle them. There was no way out. He discovered that God was present even in the darkest times and there was a purpose for his life. He survived the life threatening illnesses and now, - while he still has health problems, he sees them as positive because they redirected his path onto one of goodness and life and hope. He trusts even the darkness because he believes God knows the way.
Ask the question: “What can I learn from this seemingly negative and destructive event in my life?”  It can be a great gift and have a purpose way beyond my own narrow vision and needs. It can make me more compassionate toward others who also experience pain and suffering, and can lead to forgiveness of those perceived as the source of the pain. 
 
I recall a local woman, confined to her room in a nursing home, and she saw how she could reach out in her thoughts and prayers to every situation she could think of – to people in prison, to the refugees all over the world, to the sick and dying, to those who feeling hopeless, and be a channel of God’s mercy, love and peace for them. She had a strong sense of purpose until she took her last breath. She saw her pain as part of a much larger picture than her own life, and now, part of the pain of suffering people everywhere.

God as healer is central to the words of scripture. Healing is promised not only in a physical sense but also in an emotional, mental and spiritual sense. Most faith traditions stand on the belief that God can and does heal. It may not happen on our timeline or according to our expectations. We can reach out and support those who are suffering and struggling for hope and meaning and offer them words of comfort and assurance of the reliability of God’s presence and power in their lives. God has a purpose and a plan bigger than that of any one of us individually or collectively. “Show us, O God, our place in your plan.”

May 2008

How can promoters of justice and peace and the promoters of preaching assist each other in a common project of preaching for peace and justice?

Fr. Jude Siciliano, OP, and Fr. Greg Heille, OP, respond to this question.

“It is sometimes difficult to discern how promoters of justice and promoters of preaching can assist one another in a common project of preaching for peace and justice. Justice packets on preaching to particular social issues do not accommodate easily to lectionary and seasonal liturgical preaching. Yet, preachers can be taught in their preaching preparation to seek out the prophetic dimension which is constitutive to liturgical preaching.

"Preachers also benefit by immersing themselves in the study of one or two particular social issues, such as are put forward by the justice promoter in their 'Call to Action.' As promoters, we are involved together in a common project for preaching peace and justice, in which justice promoters seek to form each members of the Dominican Family in a passion for justice and the study of issues and in which promoters of preaching seek to form each member with an understanding of the prophetic nature of preaching and the study of interpretative tools for preaching the lections of scripture prophetically. The common project might be enhanced by working as promoters of justice and promoters of preaching to jointly sponsor a regional conference on themes pertinent to preaching justice.”

• How do we ensure that our actions for justice and peace are rooted in the Word of God?
• How can we ensure that our preaching is prophetic preaching as a foundation for justice actions?

April 2008

What are Some Ways we Can Promote Peace?

Pastor Pam Kerschner of Zion Lutheran Church shares some ideas from the National ELCA Meeting. Consider the following ideas, suggestions as you plan ways to promote peace in your family, congregation, school, neighborhood, community, nation and world.

• Spend time in prayer. Pray for such things as peace education efforts in your faith community, peace in families and guidance for local, national and world leaders.

• List the things you do each day of the week that contribute to a peaceful family, community, and world. Make a second list, identifying things you would like to add to the first list. Consider when and how you can implement each additional item.

• Designate at least one Sunday each year as Peace Sunday. Incorporate such things as drama, music, art work, poetry and prayer, Bible study and small group discussions and large group presentations to highlight non-violence.

• Plan study sessions to deepen knowledge on issues related to peace, such as the death penalty, race and ethnicity, and economic justice.

• Strengthen your commitment to peacemaking in all you do and say, using Families Living the Pledge of Nonviolence, one free copy available from ELCA at 800-638-3522.

• Invite families and individuals to create a plan for peace to use at home, at school, in the neighborhood and congregation and places of work. Evaluate periodically to see how the plans are working out.

• Practice weekly affirmation of those closest to you – family, friends, co-workers, neighbors, etc. Discuss how words and actions can be harmful or helpful.

• Look around the community to identify individuals and groups for whom issues of violence and personal safety, lack of acceptance and respect by the community and suffering  are important. Plan and implement ways your community can help them address these issues in a way that results in peace and justice for everyone.

• List the people in your life who have been models of non-violence. Explore the program from Violence to Wholeness, by Pace e Bene.” Contact Lutheran Peace Fellowship at 206-720-0313.

• Plan a retreat for young people with a focus on peace issues. Use Beyond Violence: Empowering Youth to Make a Difference, Augsburg Press – 800-328-4648.

• Design activities for all ages to help them imagine a world without violence and to get them involved in in-violence.

• Share your activities with others and encourage them to do the same.
Another good source of information is Pax Christi, USA or your local group.

March 2008

What would a well-grounded Ministry look like?

(Our Dominican life calls us to be rooted in the Word of God. The Congress on Urban Ministry shares these thoughts on the subject.)

1. The Ministry will be grounded and rooted in the Word of God. By contemplating on the Word, I allow myself to be more fully present to the God already in my being. The WORD will transform me and I will bring that power of God to my ministry. Telling the story of God and how God has made a difference in my life situation is an important part of my ministry. We are called to be Word-bearers and Word-proclaimers.

2. The Ministry will be a ministry of mercy as well as justice.
As we follow Jesus in his ministry, we see God’s mercy, love and forgiveness flowing through him. He touched and healed and restored people to life. He forgave and helped people to forgive themselves. If we are rooted in the Word, our ministry will do the same through the power of God working in and through us.
  
3. The Ministry will be one of nurture and long term engagement, walking with the people served.
As we walk with the people served, especially those who are the powerless and excluded in our society, we will be with them in a learning and empowering stance. We will listen to their needs and ideas and work with them to help them make their dreams come true.
We will help them develop leadership skills so the effort will be seen and experienced as their own. By empowering and supporting them, the ministry is much more likely to continue and benefit the entire community served for the long haul.

4. The Ministry will sure there is good and equitable social service delivery.
The people served will be enabled to name their own service needs and to ensure the services are accessible to all in need of them.
    
5. The ministry will include a justice component to address systems and structures that dehumanize.
Participants will be helped to name such structures and to  work at bringing about change in an effective way. Amplifying the voice of the voiceless is an urgent need and an essential component of effective ministry. 

6.  Comprehensive community transformation is needed.  
The whole community must be drawn into the need or issue. Together move toward ownership of the need and solution. Problems and solutions are not Black-White or other group problems. They are community problems and needs.
 

Mary Ann Weismann-Mills, OP, says this: “Members of the Order of Preachers are to be so immersed in the Word of God that one incarnates the  word – everything in the life of a Dominican preacher is viewed through the lens of the proclamation of the Gospel. Everything about our lives is the Holy Preaching: the way we govern ourselves, the  way we live together, the way we relate to each other, the way we are formed, the ministries we assume, life itself.”
 

February 2008

What Is Meant by Contemplative Listening?

(This question was asked in our Study of Community for the International Preaching Commission. Steve Wirth, Director of the Center for Contemplative Dialogue,
offered the following to a gathering of Dominicans and clergy. Printed with permission of Steve Wirth)

Contemplative dialogue and listening; how do we go deeper? We all share a human experience – education, culture, griefs and hopes. How do we engage in a
respectful way?

CONTEMPLATIVE DIALOGUE:
1. I’m not trying to improve you, change you, or fix you. 
2. People change from the inside out. Change is not imposed from without.
3. We all make mistakes and learn from them.
4. No sacred cows here! Anything can be questioned.
5. We will work at being non-defensive.
6. We will try to maintain a contemplative compassionate stance.
7. Consider our cultural values and how they shape our thinking.
8. We will listen thoughtfully and respectfully.

Why am I here? Contemplative life is what we need to shape the world. Contemplative time is needed for contemplative dialogue. Contemplative stance means we take a long look at what is real. It is a choice I make. It takes a willingness to invest time and energy and attention into the situation at hand. Look with patience and see something different. Look with eyes of compassion and not analysis  and judgment – “I’ve figured it all out.”
Come with a humble stance. There is more to you/me than meets the eye.

Take a non-defended learning stance. Allow yourself to be touched and build a shared understanding. I will not try to change you to my way of thinking. What we hold in common makes it possible for us to work together.

Take a stance of non-violence. The root of human violence starts with assumptions and
 interruptions in ourselves and others. TV violence can be traced back to human awareness and choice. We need to touch the depth of our being to sustain a quality of life together. There are six billion people on the planet. We are just a blimp in that vast universe. Our planet is doomed if we don’t practice being together in a non-violent way. We need to learn to live together with integrity and the possibility of something new happening.

Human awareness has two poles:
1. Objective pole – every day be concerned with the stuff of survival. Language is an objective quality. It is seductive but not the whole picture.
2. Subjective awareness is the place where I am as a human person, always there all the time. The choices  I make creates who I become and that creates the 
community. If I react with anger, I make a negative contribution to the planet and create a different community if I leave anger, judgment and violence there. I can also make choices that help create life. Only when we are available to the moment and free to choose, can we be in authentic and right relationship. Each person is a sacred mystery. Don’t get caught in an objective awareness. If I do that, I put you in a box. In subjective awareness, spirit engages the world and that is the tool of contemplative dialogue.

We live in an ocean of sensory information. We need to take a long loving look at what is real. It starts in the thoughts we have. We often judge and make assumptions. They hold us prisoners because we put blinders on. What are you thinking when you respond in this way? Each person has a sacred place within, no matter how we feel about him or her. We all have a longing to be understood. Often words divide us. What is the source of truth? Why do I believe? I can have strong stances of control, such as masculine over feminine. Sometimes the feminine does the same. I can also have a pastoral non-defended approach. I can tell the truth with compassion. I honor freedom of choice and respect others to decide. I have a commitment to the common good.

Some use hierarchical power such as “God told me to do it.”
I can learn to speak uncomfortable truths.
When we see compassion at work, we know we are immersed in Spirit. We continue creation with our choices and make something new. We create
a better future for those who come after us. WE ARE CALLED TO SEEK THE TRUTH, TO MAKE PEACE, TO REVERENCE LIFE, AND PRACTICE CREATING NEW POSSIBILITIES.

(SteveWirth is Executive Director of the Center for Contemplative Dialogue, a nonprofit that creatively assists communities and leaders in overcoming obstacles to organizational renewal and effectiveness through the practice of Contemplative Dialogue. Ss. Brenda Walsh and Germaine Hietpas attended Steve’s presentation.)

*****

What Is Contemplative Dialogue?

What is Contemplative Dialogue: Drawing on the Strength of the Human Spirit?
Contemplative Dialogue draws on the practices and theories of learning organizations and unites these with powerful contemplative practices from the great spiritual traditions. This union creates brand new possibilities.

The practice of dialogue provides groups a rich and productive way to build shared meaning. It creates the possibility of speaking and thinking together in ways
that are productive, creative, and deeply satisfying. We find in it ways to meet our deep longing to be understood and to understand others.

Contemplative dialogue, skillfully facilitated, creates an atmosphere that engages this  deep level of our humanness, while not requiring any particular religious or spiritual Bent on the part of the participants. Rather it works because it is able to simply and quite naturally invite people to touch their true selves. In doing this, they touch their own deep integrity and discover a tangible connection to others.

The result is a consistent ability to touch and awaken a profound common ground or collective spirit. Participants describe experiencing dialogue and mutual understanding in ways they had not imagined or thought possible. With this “group spirit” as a trustworthy starting point, issues of organizational mistrust, systemic and cultural blindness, individual powerlessness, all become matters for cooperative and  collaborative focus. The remarkable power of this process creates a safety in which participants can experience being both their real and best selves, while working cooperatively for the common good.

Contemplative dialogue provides groups and their members with a greater ability to engage and overcome the challenges they collectively face, and to do so with integrity and compassion.

It creates ways of drawing on what is best and most essential in each of us, and creates trustworthy ways to bring that into the work of our organizations and individual lives. Intentionally engaging this powerful common ground, transforms how an organization does what it does. The change is not artificial, but rooted in the deep human potential that resides within each one of us.
(To learn more, go to www.contemplativedialogue.org)

January 2008

Catching Fire from Dominic’s Vision: What Does It Mean?

 
During the celebration of the 800 years of Dominican Life and Mission, the Coordinating Council of the Dominican Sisters International reflected on the findings of the International Dominican Family. The ideas can be implemented in whatever part of the world we find ourselves.

- The challenges they named in living our Dominican Charism are the following:
- To continue to foster and to promote the Dominican Family;
- To make Justice, Peace and Care of Creation a constitutive element of the preaching of the Gospel;
- To encourage all congregations to make a conscious effort to connect with different brances of the Order in whatever way possible;
- To promote and to foster collaborative preaching with all branches of the family;
- To be on fire with our preaching mission and to renew the face of the earth;
- To make the experience and study of preaching a part of formation;
- To be open to international experiences among the family;
- To be equal partners in collaboration;
- To take seriously the Millennium Development Goals:
to believe and act as though another world is possible, a world of justice, hope of peace and full human rights and welcome of diversity;
To challenge unjust systems and structures that dehumanize.

The hope is that by working together we will be instrumental in creating a better world. We give thanks for the gift of Dominic to the church and world over the past 800 years and we renew Dominic's vision of being a family together in the mission of being Word-Bearers and Word-Proclaimers. 

If you have a question, please direct it to S. Brenda Walsh at bwalsh@racinedominicans.org.

We invite your response. Send to bwalsh@racinedominicans.org.