Over the past year we've adapted our Monday afternoon "spiel" a bit. In the past we discussed stereotypes very explicitly but have recently decided to mesh that discussion into our discussion on Catholic Social Teaching. It is important to raise awareness about stereotypes and how they impact our thoughts, words and actions, and it is also important to see how those stereotypes go against our principles of CST.
Initially when I think of stereotypes I think of the basics - race, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation to name a few. But I also see stereotypes put on other people by their interests and disinterests, by their capabilities. Instead of fostering open and honest communication with others we make assumptions about them. Its so easy to ask someone about their experience, about what makes them who they are, but for some reason we think its even easier to assume those things and place those stereotypes on each other. I see that act as a direct violation of the Principle of Human Dignity.
This principle calls us to recognize the inherent dignity that all of God's creation has, a dignity that cannot be given or taken away but is instilled at the moment of creation. So who are we to play God and try and take away that human dignity by creating or abusing stereotypes of others. Recognizing another's dignity is the first step in overcoming these stereotypes, breaking them down, and building an inclusive community. Let us challenge ourselves and each other to examine our thoughts, words and actions to recognize how they might be cutting others down or placing assumptions on others according to their abilities and characteristics. Let us challenge ourselves and our communities to recognize Jesus in everyone so that we may also be Jesus for others (a little bit of Mother Teresa there). In what ways have you experienced stereotypes? How do you (or could you) work to overcome those stereotypes placed on yourselves and others?
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Prayer: Dying to Ourselves
"You will grieve, but your grief will become joy." Jn 16:20
In Thursday's gospel Jesus provides us with this quote, telling his disciples that their grief over his death would soon be turned into rejoicing. I was struck by this reading because of the recent passing of Jeanette Sandora, wife of Butch Sandora for 41-years and long-time friend and advocate of the Farm. Jeanette's death made me think of a phrase I heard in college, "dying to ourselves."
It is this theme of dying to oneself that emphasizes our life not as our own but as a glorification of God. The service we do is not for our own good, but rather the good of God's creation and God's coming kingdom. It is quite a difficult thing to do though, to always remind ourselves that it is not about us but it is about God, especially in a culture and a world that is so focused on the satisfaction of others. Dying to ourselves also calls us to a humility that recognizes the fact that we are human and that we all have certain gifts and limitations. In coming to know ourselves in this way, in dying to ourselves, then we can rejoice in turning our lives over to God. Many times we are discouraged by those limitations, and in some sense we mourn the fact that we are so human. But, instead of being discouraged, it seems more appropriate to rejoice in our humanity and the gift of God's creation, and to live a life that glorifies God.
So this week let us turn our grief into joy, let us reflect on Jesus' Ascension into heaven with the hopes that we too can be so dedicated to God that we may one day be with Jesus. Let us die to ourselves and remind ourselves that everything we do is for the glory of God, not our own glory.
In Thursday's gospel Jesus provides us with this quote, telling his disciples that their grief over his death would soon be turned into rejoicing. I was struck by this reading because of the recent passing of Jeanette Sandora, wife of Butch Sandora for 41-years and long-time friend and advocate of the Farm. Jeanette's death made me think of a phrase I heard in college, "dying to ourselves."
It is this theme of dying to oneself that emphasizes our life not as our own but as a glorification of God. The service we do is not for our own good, but rather the good of God's creation and God's coming kingdom. It is quite a difficult thing to do though, to always remind ourselves that it is not about us but it is about God, especially in a culture and a world that is so focused on the satisfaction of others. Dying to ourselves also calls us to a humility that recognizes the fact that we are human and that we all have certain gifts and limitations. In coming to know ourselves in this way, in dying to ourselves, then we can rejoice in turning our lives over to God. Many times we are discouraged by those limitations, and in some sense we mourn the fact that we are so human. But, instead of being discouraged, it seems more appropriate to rejoice in our humanity and the gift of God's creation, and to live a life that glorifies God.
So this week let us turn our grief into joy, let us reflect on Jesus' Ascension into heaven with the hopes that we too can be so dedicated to God that we may one day be with Jesus. Let us die to ourselves and remind ourselves that everything we do is for the glory of God, not our own glory.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Community: A Non-Violent Approach
This previous week during our discussion on Catholic Social Teaching, someone raised the question "Does fighting in a war fulfill the principle of the Common Good?"
Now clearly any response to this question can take a very political turn very quickly, and while I believe we should be spending our money on better causes, I'd like to steer our reflection in a spiritual direction. When it comes to the use of violence as a means to attain anything, in fact the use of violence alone I believe we need to be reminded of the image of Christ. Here is a man who had so many violent things done to him because he stood up for what he believed in and never did he retort with violence. The man was handed a cross and crucified because he believed so deeply in God. His expression of non-violence accomplished far more than any violent response could have. Sure those who wanted him crucified accomplished something in killing him, but his martyrdom is what allowed him to be raised from the dead saving all of humanity... a much greater feat than the death of one man.
On January 2nd, 1991 Mother Theresa wrote the following letter to Presidents Bush and Hussein in response to the Gulf War:
"Dear President George Bush and President Saddam Hussein:
I come to you with tears in my eyes and God's love in my heart to plead to you for the poor and those who will become poor if the war that we all dread and fear happens. I beg you with my whole heart to work for, to labor for God's peace and to be reconciled with one another.
You both have your cases to make and your people to care for, but first please listen to the One who came into the world to teach us peace. You have the power and the strength to destroy God's presence and image, his men, his women, and his children. Please listen to the will of God. God has created us to be loved by his love and not to be destroyed by our hatred.
In the short term there may be winners and losers in this war that we all dread but that never can and never will justify the suffering, pain and loss of life which your weapons will cause.
I come to you in the name of God, the God that we all love and share, to beg for the innocent ones, our poor of the world and those who will become poor because of war. They are the ones who will suffer and when they do we will be the ones who are guilty for not having done all in our power to protect and love them. I plead to you for those who will be left orphaned, widowed, and left alone because their parents, husbands, bothers and children have been killed. I beg you please save them. I plead for those who will be left with disability and disfigurement. They are God's children. I plead for those who will be left with no home, no food, and no love. Please think of them as being your children. Finally I plead for those who will have the most precious thing that God can give us, Life, taken away from them. I beg you to save our brothers and sisters, yours and ours, because they are given to us by God to love and to cherish. It is not for us to destroy what God has given to us. Please, please let your mind and your will become the mind and will of God. You have the power to bring war into the world or to build peace. Please choose the way of peace. I, my sisters, and our poor are praying for you so much. The whole world is praying that you will open your hearts in love to God. you may win the war but what will the cost be on people who are broken, disabled, and lost?
I appeal to you - to your love, your love of God and your fellowmen. In the name of God and in the name of those you will make poor do not destroy life and peace. Let the love and peace triumph and let your name be remembered for the good you have done, the joy you have spread, and the love you have shared.
Please pray for me and my sisters as we try to love and serve the poor because they belong to God and are loved in his eyes so we and our poor are praying for you. We pray that you will love and nourish what God has so lovingly entrusted into your care.
May God bless you now and always."
While violence may be our first reaction, let us respond with love. Let us be symbols of Christ's triumphant non-violence, and build community by building others up rather than tearing them down.
Now clearly any response to this question can take a very political turn very quickly, and while I believe we should be spending our money on better causes, I'd like to steer our reflection in a spiritual direction. When it comes to the use of violence as a means to attain anything, in fact the use of violence alone I believe we need to be reminded of the image of Christ. Here is a man who had so many violent things done to him because he stood up for what he believed in and never did he retort with violence. The man was handed a cross and crucified because he believed so deeply in God. His expression of non-violence accomplished far more than any violent response could have. Sure those who wanted him crucified accomplished something in killing him, but his martyrdom is what allowed him to be raised from the dead saving all of humanity... a much greater feat than the death of one man.
On January 2nd, 1991 Mother Theresa wrote the following letter to Presidents Bush and Hussein in response to the Gulf War:
"Dear President George Bush and President Saddam Hussein:
I come to you with tears in my eyes and God's love in my heart to plead to you for the poor and those who will become poor if the war that we all dread and fear happens. I beg you with my whole heart to work for, to labor for God's peace and to be reconciled with one another.
You both have your cases to make and your people to care for, but first please listen to the One who came into the world to teach us peace. You have the power and the strength to destroy God's presence and image, his men, his women, and his children. Please listen to the will of God. God has created us to be loved by his love and not to be destroyed by our hatred.
In the short term there may be winners and losers in this war that we all dread but that never can and never will justify the suffering, pain and loss of life which your weapons will cause.
I come to you in the name of God, the God that we all love and share, to beg for the innocent ones, our poor of the world and those who will become poor because of war. They are the ones who will suffer and when they do we will be the ones who are guilty for not having done all in our power to protect and love them. I plead to you for those who will be left orphaned, widowed, and left alone because their parents, husbands, bothers and children have been killed. I beg you please save them. I plead for those who will be left with disability and disfigurement. They are God's children. I plead for those who will be left with no home, no food, and no love. Please think of them as being your children. Finally I plead for those who will have the most precious thing that God can give us, Life, taken away from them. I beg you to save our brothers and sisters, yours and ours, because they are given to us by God to love and to cherish. It is not for us to destroy what God has given to us. Please, please let your mind and your will become the mind and will of God. You have the power to bring war into the world or to build peace. Please choose the way of peace. I, my sisters, and our poor are praying for you so much. The whole world is praying that you will open your hearts in love to God. you may win the war but what will the cost be on people who are broken, disabled, and lost?
I appeal to you - to your love, your love of God and your fellowmen. In the name of God and in the name of those you will make poor do not destroy life and peace. Let the love and peace triumph and let your name be remembered for the good you have done, the joy you have spread, and the love you have shared.
Please pray for me and my sisters as we try to love and serve the poor because they belong to God and are loved in his eyes so we and our poor are praying for you. We pray that you will love and nourish what God has so lovingly entrusted into your care.
May God bless you now and always."
While violence may be our first reaction, let us respond with love. Let us be symbols of Christ's triumphant non-violence, and build community by building others up rather than tearing them down.
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Service: It Comes from Passion and Love
I feel like I should apologize for taking a week off last week, and I realize its not good for continuity sake. But, everybody needs a vacation day every once in a while - right? We just have to make sure we aren't taking a vacation from God or our faith, those must be constants in our everyday lives.
It is that consistency of faith that drives me to serve, to recognize the dignity of all those I encounter and to do my best to put my own blessings aside so that others may be blessed in the first place. I guess you could say that is my passion in life, to be with other people and to serve God at the same time. I'm always awestruck when I hear about people living out their passions, even jealous sometimes. A few specific situations come to mind.
Since I am a Cincinnati native, I am also a Reds fan at heart and will always be a Reds fan despite their more trying years. So I was very happy when I heard the story of Chris Dickerson integrating his passion for environmental sustainability and his center-field position with the Cincinnati Reds. As a minor-league player for the Louisville Bats, Chris was appalled by the overuse of disposable cups and Gatorade bottles in the locker room and dugouts. So he bought Sigg bottles (comparable to Naglenes and other reusable bottles) for each member of the team in an effort to be more sustainable. When he was promoted to the majors with the Cincinnati Reds he didn't let this mission die and did the same thing - bought a bottle for each teammate. Throughout that process he also started a non-profit organization called "We Play Green" which encourages athletes to live sustainably and join forces with Chris.
I also read an article lately about Dikembe Mutombo's life-changing effect on an ESPN reporter who traveled with him to Africa and saw the poverty-stricken people firsthand. Chad Ford was forever changed by that trip and the hope that Dikembe brings to the people of his native land. Seeing that hope and Love that Mutombo brings inspired him to do the same.
Check out We Play Green's website: http://www.weplaygreen.org/ or Chad Ford's letter to Dikembe Mutombo on ESPN's Blog "truehoop": http://myespn.go.com/blogs/truehoop/0-39-125/Chad-Ford-s-Letter-to-Dikembe-Mutombo.html. And let's ask ourselves, how do we liev out our passions and love for others no matter what our current profession? Who are those around us who are models of such service and how can we strive to live in their model and the model of Jesus?
It is that consistency of faith that drives me to serve, to recognize the dignity of all those I encounter and to do my best to put my own blessings aside so that others may be blessed in the first place. I guess you could say that is my passion in life, to be with other people and to serve God at the same time. I'm always awestruck when I hear about people living out their passions, even jealous sometimes. A few specific situations come to mind.
Since I am a Cincinnati native, I am also a Reds fan at heart and will always be a Reds fan despite their more trying years. So I was very happy when I heard the story of Chris Dickerson integrating his passion for environmental sustainability and his center-field position with the Cincinnati Reds. As a minor-league player for the Louisville Bats, Chris was appalled by the overuse of disposable cups and Gatorade bottles in the locker room and dugouts. So he bought Sigg bottles (comparable to Naglenes and other reusable bottles) for each member of the team in an effort to be more sustainable. When he was promoted to the majors with the Cincinnati Reds he didn't let this mission die and did the same thing - bought a bottle for each teammate. Throughout that process he also started a non-profit organization called "We Play Green" which encourages athletes to live sustainably and join forces with Chris.
I also read an article lately about Dikembe Mutombo's life-changing effect on an ESPN reporter who traveled with him to Africa and saw the poverty-stricken people firsthand. Chad Ford was forever changed by that trip and the hope that Dikembe brings to the people of his native land. Seeing that hope and Love that Mutombo brings inspired him to do the same.
Check out We Play Green's website: http://www.weplaygreen.org/ or Chad Ford's letter to Dikembe Mutombo on ESPN's Blog "truehoop": http://myespn.go.com/blogs/truehoop/0-39-125/Chad-Ford-s-Letter-to-Dikembe-Mutombo.html. And let's ask ourselves, how do we liev out our passions and love for others no matter what our current profession? Who are those around us who are models of such service and how can we strive to live in their model and the model of Jesus?
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