spirituality

Is empathy a sin? A Gospel perspective

As the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is, at this writing, tomorrow, (Friday June 27th in 2025), and June is traditionally the month of the Sacred Heart, I’ve been pondering the heart’s virtues, such as love, compassion, mercy, solidarity, and empathy especially. This seems an urgent topic to write about right now as so many seem to glory in cruelty, others going so far as to call empathy a supposed “sin”.

I’ve had somebody say to me in response to a plea for compassion for migrants, that we “aren’t supposed to be the Church of ‘nice.” “No, I said, “we are supposed to be the Church of radical love.”

The argument that there is a “sin” of empathy, I likely don’t have to tell most of you, is antithetical to the Gospel. At best this argument is coming from people who are trying to protect their hearts from the pain of empathy or their conscience telling them to do something about it. Maybe it’s to justify the hardness of their hearts. God knows what it is. In any case this is the work of the devil. It’s ugly and contrary to love. Love, remember, is what God is and what we are supposed to be doing. Maybe they’ve re-interpreted what that was supposed to mean to love God and love our neighbor as ourselves. It’s hard to understand how that is possible. However here we are hearing anti-empathy declarations.

This belief that empathy is to be quashed and not nurtured or respected is mostly found in certain corners of ultra-reactionary or hyper-rationalist “theology.” The argument usually goes something like:

“Empathy clouds judgment. It leads us to condone sin in others. It makes us sentimental and irrational.”

One time I came home from work and my teen and pre-teen were playing seriously inappropriate music loudly in the house. I turned it off and made them stand in front of a picture of Our Lady and recite the lyrics to her. They couldn’t. I wonder if people who discourage or disdain empathy can look into the face of Jesus and tell him that nonsense they say to other people. Lacking empathy, campaigning against it is the more likely sin.

The “sin of empathy” crowd say they feel manipulated by calls for empathy. They put labels on goodness like “virtue signaling.” rather than being inspired to act with mercy. Maybe they think the man beset by robbers deserved what he got, that the Good Samaritan was weak, stupid, being taken advantage of. Perhaps they would say that the priest and the levite who passed by without helping were the real heroes of the story. Maybe these are people who have been put-upon too much in life, or feel used when they do something for someone, or they have trouble with boundaries and they threw the “baby out with the bath water,” as my mom would say. I don’t know but they’re wrong and they try to deceive others as well.

How could empathy erase moral clarity? It can only deepen it and fill it out. As Pope Francis said in Dilexit Nos, his encyclical on the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the human heart brings together fragments of ourselves into cohesion. The heart brings together soul, spirit, mind and body, enabling true discernment and understanding. We can’t attempt to cut off parts of ourselves and call that “clarity” or “judgement.” To do that only mutilates us as people, distorting our judgement and endangering our salvation.

Being “cruel to be kind” is an oxymoron when it comes to the suffering of another. It is merely mean, dumb, and contrary to the Gospel.

Empathy is the ability to enter into another’s experience — to “weep with those who weep” (Romans 12:15), to “bear one another’s burdens” (Galatians 6:2), to love your neighbor as yourself (Mark 12:31). Jesus constantly showed empathy:

He wept over Lazarus (John 11:35) and over Jerusalem (Luke 19:41)
He touched lepers, (Matthew 8:22-26) embraced children, (Mark 10:13-16) noticed the suffering no one else saw and did something about it every time.
His Incarnation was an act of ultimate divine empathy — “He took on our infirmities and bore our diseases” (Isaiah 53:4, Matthew 8:17)
Toward the lowly he never used “tough love.” He reserved that for the powerful alone. He was angry with them for their oppression of others, for their hypocrisy, their legalism that got in the way of mercy, and for their lack of compassion. (See Matthew 23 for some serious rage from Jesus toward religious leaders for these very things).
He healed a woman with a crooked back and was angry when the Pharisees and Scribes confronted him with doing this on the Sabbath. He hated the way they put strict observance of rules over care and compassion for people. (Luke 13: 10-17)

To reject empathy is to reject Christ’s own way of loving. Our Lord never condemned anybody for being too soft hearted; quite the opposite. People were condemned by him for being legalistic without mercy (the Pharisees), for being indifferent to suffering (the priest and Levite in the Good Samaritan story Luke 10:25-37), for being harsh and arrogant instead of humble and compassionate (Luke 18:9–14).

Clearly the “sin of empathy” assertion is a serious distortion of the Gospel – anathema to it. People asking “yeah well who IS my neighbor” and trying to redefine that as people they agree with, like or approve of, are on the wrong path. Don’t listen. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. Do not be carried away by strange teaching (Hebrews 13:8 and Ephesians 4:14). If anyone preaches to you a different Jesus than we (the apostles) have, said St. Paul, let them be accursed (Galatians 1:8-9, 2 Corinthians 11:4).

You cannot love God and hate your brother or sister. That would make you a liar. (1 John 4:20)

The intentions of Pope Leo XIV for the month of June are “that the world will grow in compassion.” He says, “Now is the time for love.”

It seems to me there is a battle of good and evil happening, a fight for the soul of the world. I don’t think I usually talk like this. But this anti empathy stuff is the devil. Resist him, solid in your faith. (1 Peter 5:8)

Jesus teaches us that it’s not enough just to resist evil. We have to pray for, bless and love those in the grip of it. We have to shine our light of love and compassion for all to see. And we need to grow in the virtues of the heart ourselves.

Jesus, gentle and humble of Heart, make our hearts like unto thine.

June 26, 2025 2

Travel by Heart

Travel by heart

June 25, 2025 0

Time Out for Peace

My sweet friend Julia, of the Focolare Movement, (the official name is “The Work of Mary”), mentioned to me once the practice they have of stopping to pray for peace at noon. Looking into this, I found out this was something a young Focolare Blessed, who had died at the age of seventeen in 1990, of bone cancer, had done every day. Her name is Chiarra Luce (meaning “clear light”). She took one minute daily at noon to pray for peace in silence.

In 2023 The Focolare Movement promoted this idea as “The Time Out for Peace Project.”

Most of us are at work at that time of day as I am. However if we can’t stop for a whole minute we can stop for a second or two.

The Church provides us with a couple of traditional prayers for noon so that we are all joining together in spirit then. One of these is The Angelus, a Marian prayer prayed for centuries at 6am, noon, and 6pm. This is why the bells of so many Catholic Churches and monasteries ring “Angelus Bells” in a pattern of three times in a row three times. These are a reminder to pray the Angelus. I love the Angelus Prayer and I try to pray it every day. If I can’t, I at least touch foreheads with Our Lady or squeeze her hand or at least pray one Hail Mary at that time. It’s a great way to touch base with her. We can dedicate the Angelus to Peace. After all Mary is the Queen of Peace.

The Angelus

The Angel of God declared unto Mary

R/. And she conceived of the Holy Spirit

Hail Mary…

Behold the Handmaid of the Lord

R/. Let it be done unto me as you have said.

Hail Mary…

And the Word was made flesh (genuflect here)

R/. And dwelt among us.

(stand) Hail Mary…

Pray for us, O holy Mother of God,
R/. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray.

Pour forth, we beseech you, O Lord, your grace into our hearts: that we, to whom the Incarnation of Christ your Son was made known by the message of an Angel, may by his Passion and Cross be brought to the glory of his Resurrection. Through the same Christ our Lord.

Amen.

The other prayer traditionally prayed at noon is Noon Prayer (or “Sext’) from the Liturgy of the Hours. Lest this sound complicated, there are apps for your phone so you can access this simple prayer break in this middle of the day. The Divine Office App or the Universalis App are both good. You can also access the Liturgy of Hours free online at Universalis. It’s made up of a hymn (I usually skip it), three Psalm selections, a short Scripture reading, and a brief closing prayer. It sounds long but it only takes a few minutes in practice.

I sometimes stop for a minute, and look at Jesus residing in my heart. Once I have greeted him I will tell him I am asking him for peace. Sometimes we talk about it. Other times we are quiet and I occasionally say mentally, “Peace, Lord, Peace,” or I imagine us going around the world calming fear, protecting those in danger, reconciling peoples, stopping bombs. I know I can’t stop anything but he can and he likes to have me along I think. He seems to love sharing his work with us. I see imagination as a way to focus intention and express prayer in the same way words do. We don’t need words in order to pray. Neither do we need imagination to pray, but I find it nice.

Of course you can pray for peace in whatever way you like and for however long or briefly you like. These ideas are only suggestions for anyone who wants them.

The important thing is to take time each day, preferably at noon so we can join together by heart, and the Lord will enjoy the prayers for peace crossing his earth with the sunlight like the movements of a song.

Blessed Chiara Luce, pray for us. For peace.

June 18, 2025 1

Creating a Unique Wedding Vigil: A Personal Journey

My late husband, Bob, during our engagement, had been deeply moved by his first Holy Thursday mass. Watching the priest wash parishioner’s feet impressed him profoundly.

One time we were talking about Vigils the night before Catholic funerals. He wondered if the same thing happened before a wedding – a service with readings, prayers and a rosary. I said no but I wish that there was a tradition like that.

Bob thought we should have one. Well why not? We found out this was something that had to be a private thing we did at home rather than in the Church. We started planning our at home wedding vigil.

We looked at books like The Blessing Cup and a Catholic wedding prep book called Marriage, Sacrament of Hope and Challenge, for ideas since both contained little rituals that could be done at home, and then we wrote our own.

We invited friends over for the night before our wedding (we had our bachelor and bachelorette parties earlier in the week).

Bob definitely wanted us to wash each other’s feet, and he wanted a way to include my kids from my first marriage (their dad had died in a car crash when they were little). He felt he wasn’t just marrying me but becoming family to them too. So he bought them both necklaces as tokens of his commitment to them too.

Bob was not Catholic (yet). Most of his friends weren’t either. So while we Catholics prayed the rosary, the non- Catholics could go to the back yard where Bob would have a fire going and could play guitar and sing and people could talk or join him. We rosary pray-ers would join them when we finished.

Our ceremony included an opening prayer, a Scripture reading, intercessions, and an exchange of words of commitment before we washed each other’s feet. We included Bob’s gifting the necklaces to the girls, the sharing of a “Blessing Cup” we passed around, an Our Father and a closing prayer and plus lots of hugs.

I mostly remember that just as he finished washing my right foot, he gave my toes a squeeze with those big warm calloused hands of his.

I think a wedding vigil is such a beautiful idea, a wonderful thing to do. A couple needs as many prayers and as much support as they can get!

Bob was already fighting brain cancer by the time we did this. Our marriage was far from long enough but it was a beautiful one. I am extra glad we started it this way.

Our favorite wedding picture. 🙂

May 1, 2025 1

Honoring Pope Francis’ Love for Mary

I’ve found myself having trouble writing about Pope Francis since his death but I feel I should. It has been hard because I grieve him as so many do, in a deep, personal way, as well as with the Church and the world.

However, I thought with May coming up in a few days, the month the Church has dedicated to Mary, I could honor Pope Francis’ profound love of Our Lady.

Pope Francis turned to Mary the way a child turns to his mother. One of his first acts as Pope was to visit the ancient icon of Salus Populi Romani in Rome, in the Church of St. Mary Major, the oldest church dedicated to Mary. And he returned to that image again and again—before every apostolic journey, and after, to thank her. He entrusted the whole Church to her care and often encouraged us to do the same. In the Byzantine icon, Mary holds the Child Jesus, who holds the book of the Gospel. To me, since his view of Our Lady was centered in the Gospel, much as everything else about him was, that icon seems especially appropriate for him.

He has requested to be buried in St. Mary Major, near that icon where he prayed so often. He said to the coadjutor of that church, Rolandas Mackrikas, Mary appeared to him there asking him to arrange to be laid to rest in that place where Francis had so often come to visit her. He said “I’m so glad she has not forgotten me!”

Francis’ daily prayers included the Rosary, and his heart was especially close to the Marian devotions of Latin America—like Our Lady of Luján, the patroness of Argentina. Mary was not a “plaster saint” to him. (He cautioned against seeing her that way). She was a presence in his life. She was a real person to him.

The Holy Father spoke often of Mary as the “Mother of the People,” especially the poor and suffering. This view of Mary is prominent in Latin American spirituality. Mary walks with the people, accompanies them in their suffering and joy. This is what Franics himself was like. He wanted to be near people, to accompany them, love them, stand up for them, listen to them. Maybe he took after his Blessed Mother.

Pope Francis reminded us that in her Magnificat, Mary praises the God who casts down the powerful and lifts up the lowly, who feeds the hungry and sends the rich away empty. (Luke 1:46-55). Mary stood for, rejoiced in, justice for the poor and the oppressed, and we should too.

In Our Lady, he said, the Church sees what it means to be humble and brave at once.

Mary was little, and saw herself as lowly, but she was bold in faith and love.

My favorite Francis quote on Mary is about her brave humility at the Annunciation; in her response to the message of the Angel Gabriel.

“She recognizes that she is small before God, and she is happy to be so.” (Angelus December 24, 2017) He saw her humility as joyful, open to God, and brave.

And she was brave. Look at her life, so often turned upside down. But she always put Jesus and his mission, and put the Church, first, every time, even when she didn’t understand what was happening. She trusted, doing the will of God as soon as she knew it, no matter what it was, because she was great of heart.

Pope Francis is the Pope who gave us the feast of Mary, Mother of the Church, celebrated on the Monday after Pentecost. She is the Mother of Jesus, involved in our salvation and in the life of the Church, united with us in prayer as she was on the day of Pentecost. (Acts 1:14)

He also called Mary the first disciple —the one who listened deeply, believed without having all the answers, and followed her Son to the cross.

Francis loved that she was a woman of deep prayer as well as action.

Immediately after the Annunciation, “Mary arose and went with haste” to visit Elizabeth and assist her in her need. After the most intense and important mystical experience anybody on earth had ever had or ever would have, Mary immediately dives into service and love, helping her relative Elizabeth who is pregnant at an advanced age. (Luke 1:39-56) In the same way, Francis, and we, draw strength from prayer and contemplation. Then we immediately become servants of love. That is what Mary did, and it is what Francis did too. He thought of her as an evangelist, carrying Jesus to others wherever she went. To me this describes Pope Francis well.

In times of crisis, Francis always turned to Our Lady. During the pandemic, he asked the world to pray with him under her protection. In war, hunger, and fear, he encouraged us to say simply: “Mother, help us.”

In a time of grief, it feels right to turn to Mary—because that’s what Pope Francis would have done. He trusted her with his life and his Church. In this month of May, maybe we can do the same. We can pray the Rosary, light a candle, sing the Salve Regina, or simply say, “Stay with us, Mother.”

If we want to carry his spirit forward, we might start by walking with her.

In one of his homilies, Pope Francis said, “A Christian without Mary is an orphan.” But none of us are orphans, even though a wonderful father and beautiful light in the world has gone from us. Mary holds us even now, and she holds her son’s faithful shepherd, Francis close. May she carry him to the arms of Jesus, and may she walk with us until we meet again.

“Mother, help our faith!

Open our ears to hear God’s word and to recognize his voice and call.

Awaken in us a desire to follow in his footsteps, to go forth from our own land and to receive his promise.

Help us to be touched by his love, that we may touch him in faith.

Help us to entrust ourselves fully to him and to believe in his love, especially at times of trial, beneath the shadow of the cross, when our faith is called to mature.

Sow in our faith the joy of the Risen One.

Remind us that those who believe are never alone.

Teach us to see all things with the eyes of Jesus, that he may be light for our path. And may this light of faith always increase in us, until the dawn of that undying day which is Christ himself, your Son, our Lord!” – Pope Franics

April 29, 2025 0

The Prophet Elijah: A Model for Holy Activism

I dreamed about the Prophet Elijah a couple weeks ago. We were sitting on a mountainside talking.The conversation we had is lost to me for the most part. It seemed significant that I dreamed of him. In the time following, I re-read the stories of Elijah’s life in Scripture.

*You can find these in 1 Kings chapters 17-19, and 21,

2 Kings Chapters 1-2, and in Sirach 48:1-11.

The pattern of his life that stood out to me as I read and reflected, is the path of the holy activist.

Elijah embodies the prophetic response to times of upheaval and injustice. He is an icon of a prophet arising in a time of darkness, burning like a torch. He spoke truth to power, confronted corruption, and defended the vulnerable. He drew his strength and inspiration from God as he served the hungry, healed the sick, and returned to a hostile land he had run in fear from. Sometimes he was afraid for his life, frustrated, burned out. Then he charged back into the fray, blazing, lit by God’s transforming love. Elijah’s life is a map lighting the path of the holy activist.

Elijah confronted corrupt leaders

King Ahab and Queen Jezebel were horrible, shameless, lawless people. They were greedy, murderous, corrupt idolaters and false accusers leading the people into apostasy. Elijah confronted them several times over killing the prophets and destroying God’s altars, taking from and murdering the poor, warning of consequences to come.

During one of his confrontations with Ahab, the king called Elijah his enemy, blaming him for causing trouble. This happens a lot to anyone who speaks up against wrongdoing. Elijah doesn’t care what the King says. He contradicts him briefly, undeterred. He doesn’t let himself be drawn into argument. He delivers God’s message with its warning and walks away, leaving the results in God’s hands.

If you have to call out corruption or injustice, remember to detach from what happens after you have spoken. You can do your part and the rest is up to the hearers to choose how to respond.

Elijah spoke truth to power

Baal, a pagan god whose worship included child sacrifice, was popular at the time just as destructive ideologies have so much sway now. Elijah was the only prophet of the God of Israel left and the Queen was trying to kill him as well. Sometimes we have to speak the truth at great risk.

Elijah called the priests of Baal to meet him for a duel between their false god and the true God of Israel. The prophet of God stands alone against 450 priests of Baal and before his own people who had gone over to them. He trusted God to act. Dramatically and miraculously, God came through, sending fire from Heaven to consume Elijah’s sacrifice.

God will give us everything we need to do as he asks; to stand up and speak out even if we are all alone in doing so, he is with us.

Elijah made use of humor

I want to add that Elijah made fun of the prophets of Baal as they called to their false god. He taunted them sarcastically about whether their god was sleeping, or deaf or busy. “Maybe you should yell a little louder.”

Making fun of the powerful can be a good thing at times like these so we aren’t overcome by fear or hopelessness. Those late night comedians keep me going sometimes. I’m all for it. After all, Elijah ends up slaying the false prophets and there are more ways than one to slay.

So if you can, find ways to laugh. Bring the powerful down to size with humor.

Elijah served the needy with faith and compassion

After a time of frustration and even despair, God sends Elijah on a journey to help a poor widow and her son who are on the brink of starvation.

By the prophet’s prayers and the woman’s trust, her oil jug never runs dry and her flour jar never runs out of flour until the famine is over.

Elijah prayed over her son when he fell ill and died while he was there, which brought the child back to life. Elijah shows himself to be a man of profound compassion and faith. His service to the widow renews him and helps him grow.

If you’re freaking out, an act of kindness or service will help your perspective and give you peace.

Defending the poor and oppressed

King Ahab and Queen Jezebel conspired to take the ancestral land of a man named Naboth after he refused to sell. It was already against Jewish law to press someone to sell their family land. Then Jezebel arranged false accusations against Naboth because of which he was executed. Then the King took over the man’s land. Naboth stands for all of the poor who suffer injustice and oppression, from the greed of the rich and powerful, from unjust systems.

Always defend the poor and oppressed and be sure that even if you don’t think you succeed in doing so, God will, either now or in the future.

Being guided by God, motivated by love

One of the times Elijah was in hiding, God asked him, “Elijah, what are you doing?” Elijah pours out his heart to the Lord. He tells him how scared he is with the Queen trying to have him killed. Then he tells God of his burning, intense love for him, which is the spark of his zeal. This is what it means to be a holy activist. Our inspiration, our strength, our courage to confront people in power, our compassion, our hunger and thirst for righteousness, are all from God.

Now and then it’s important for an activist of faith to do some soul searching with God. What are you doing? Why are you doing it? Is God with you on this?

Elijah experienced burnout and renewal

Twice in Elijah’s life story, we see him in hiding, scared and frustrated, overwhelmed to the point he wants to die and asks God to let him. He suffers from exhaustion, fear, frustration and self doubt. Twice God comes to him like a gentle parent, giving him bread, telling him to drink some water and have something to eat. Elijah rests, gets some sleep, and is fed by God until he is ready for a new mission, and sets out restored and reassured.

If you’re overwhelmed or burned out, let God care for you for a while. Rest, get extra sleep, until you’re ready and receive new guidance.

Elijah encounters God profoundly

God calls Elijah to the mouth of the cave he has been staying in, and invites him to experience him passing by. There is a mighty wind, but the wind is not God. There is an earthquake but neither is this God. When Elijah hears a “still, small voice” within himself, in a gesture of reverence as he covers his face with his cloak, recognizing the presence of the Lord.

Draw from the Source of all life, and practice attentiveness to God’s presence at all times. You will grow exponentially in love, strength and compassion, reflecting the Lord you love and listen to.

Elijah mentored the next generation to take on the work

An important part of activism is handing on the spirit of the work to the next generation. Elijah, after training Elisha at his side, grants him a double portion of his spirit before he is taken up to heaven. Elisha takes the mantle of his mentor over his shoulders, going on to do the great work of a prophet.

Whatever form of activism or mission you are involved in, always take time to talk to interested young people and pass on your wisdom and experience.

I’ve been so worried about so many things going on in our country, in our world. Maybe you have been too. Let us look to the Prophet Elijah to light our way, asking him for a double portion of his spirit, praying for the knowledge of his will for us and the power to carry it out. * from the 11th Step of AA

“The lord lives! I am standing in his presence.”

*Antiphon from the Carmelite proper, feast of Elijah the Prophet, July 20

April 3, 2025 0

Remembering Mr. J.D.: A Legacy of Faith

When I used to volunteer for Hospice I would deliver flowers every week or so to an old man who had kidney cancer. He lived way out in the middle of nowhere in a small, very old wooden house with his wife, Priscilla. He was my favorite stop. We used to talk and talk. I prayed with his family, sons and daughters, cousins, brothers and sisters, in the kitchen holding hands. They prayed spontaneous vocal prayer. I was shy so I prayed Come, Holy Spirit but they were delighted and said it was wonderful.

He liked to pray for me about things that came up in my life. He would say he had “pondered” in his heart and reflected on a situation in my life and tell me what he felt he got in prayer about it. He often worried about me being a widow so young, and thought I should marry again. He prayed a “holy Christian man” would come into my life. Years later, this did happen, and I’m sure Mr. J.D. had something to do with it. I was surprised he could worry about anyone else when he was dying. But that’s how he was.

When I came in, he used to tell me how his day was in spiritual terms. He would say, “I been deep in the Lord, deep in the Lord all day today.” Another time, in his last few days, he said, “I’m sorry I just can’t talk about anything else but Jesus Christ anymore.” I said “No need to apologize. That’s what I think about all the time too. “ This was in 2002. I still remember him sometimes and smile. He’s deep in the Lord for sure

March 13, 2025 2

Take refuge in prayer and service on Inauguration Day

Photo by RDNE Stock project on Pexels.com

This post is for those of us for whom the 2025 Inauguration of our incoming president will be a day of grief, or at least a difficult day.

I am very very sad for my country too and worried as well as I have said before. I am horrified by the ugliness and hate this administration is already unleashing into society – bringing out the worst in all of us.

Here are my survival plans for January 20.

I am not watching the inauguration, not in any way. In fact I’m not listening to the news at all that day. Spiritual reading or audio book sounds a lot better.

I plan to celebrate MLK whose day it is. I can do this by being grateful for him, by posting about him, by reading some of his writings, by talking about him with my family, especially with my grandchildren. Locally we have an MLK day March that because of weather will be a caravan this year. We plan to join it.

If you’re home for the MLK holiday then you can make this a mini retreat day for yourself to recharge and put on the armor of God

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“Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”

Ephesians 6:11-17

Pray. Because when we pray we are truly putting more love into the world , in whatever way we choose to pray. If we pray with love and attentiveness God will work through us in secret and powerful ways; our soul becomes a door of grace for the movement of divine love into this world. We don’t have to say anything. We only bring ourselves to God with an open heart. He will only do what is right.

So pray in whatever way you can. Pray as much as you can.

I plan to dedicate my actions that day and any suffering I feel or any happiness, all my thoughts words and experiences of the day, to the cause of truth and justice and right. God knows what those truly are so I don’t even have to be specific.

Next, make this a day of service. Do a good deed. Make a connection with someone. You can pick up trash in your neighborhood. Perform a random act of kindness. Volunteer at a local charity. Spend some time really listening to a child and let them lead the conversation or the activity of their choice. Kids remember things like that. Do someone else’s chores. Pay it forward at a drive through. Give someone flowers. Ask a homeless person how they are. You know what to do.

I also think at least for that day Philippians 4:8 has excellent advice for what to keep in mind. I’m going to try to master my thoughts and put that verse into action.

“Finally, brothers, sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”

Philippians 4:8

I plan to listen to beautiful music and also to take refuge in poetry. I’ve been reading a lot of poetry lately.

Make good use of that dark day of worry fear and grief. Make it something beautiful for God and for others, for yourself.

It’s like putting flowers in guns I think. Only these flowers are able to bring about the change they represent.

This is it y’all. Let’s prepare ourselves with prayer, with beauty, with acts of service, with peace. That’s our real refuge.

January 17, 2025 0

Accept in order to Resist

I, like many, have been struggling with acceptance since Nov. 5th. Ive been thinking HOW are we, how am I, going to make it through this? I’ve made some plans, thought of some things to do to assist others who will be most affected. But I realized that one thing that could help is acceptance. It sounds obvious but sometimes it takes me a while to realize that I am in non- acceptance – which is the most painful, sticky place to be. If stuck in a glue trap or a spiders web, struggle only impedes escape. I – and we- have a lot of work to do, a lot coming that we will have to deal with. If you are familiar with AA and Al-Anon maybe you will recognize this:

“The level of my Serenity is directly proportional to the level of my acceptance.” – Alcoholics Anonymous, The Big Book

We should not accept what is evil, thats not what I’m saying. But for me it’s been hard to accept that this is where we are. Trump is here along with his clown car of malignant crazies. Yes they are cruel and destructive and authoritarian, racist, “Christian” nationalist, anti planet, sexist -etcetera etcetera, everything horrible. They are. But until I can quit being shocked every day by the awful things they say and do I can’t be very useful and I certainly will be emotionally drained. I’m chuckling a little thinking of how the Twelve Steps of AA would sound applied to Trump but maybe the idea of acceptance and sorting out areas of powerlessness from areas of responsibility and possibility is a pretty good idea.

Sometimes I listen to a spiritual speaker named Tara Brach. She is Buddhist but her talks can apply to anyone. She talks about having a heart ready for anything. To have that you need acceptance of the fact of what’s here. This is here. It “belongs” so to speak. Here we are. Am I going to go into this kicking and screaming? Or can I relax and untangle the web, roll out of the glue trap, and be open to what the Spirit is asking of me in these times ? I suspect there will be many glue trap days. But I can return to the first three steps of the twelve:

That I am powerless over the fact that for the next four years this is our government, yes, of madmen. Here they are. And I admit that my inner life has become unmanageable because of my reaction to this fact.
I believe that a power greater than myself can restore me to sanity.
I become willing to turn my will and my life over to the care of God as I understand him.

I think the 11th step is a big part of this too: I seek “through prayer and meditation to improve my conscious contact with God, praying only for the knowledge of his will for me and the power to carry it out.”

I do think intercessory prayer is going to be extremely important in what we are about to encounter. So I’m adding that of course, to my 11th step plans.

Sometimes the only way out is through. So let’s go through. And let’s do it with love.

And let’s remember this is also the Jubilee Year of Hope and we are Pilgrims of Hope.

Hate did not win. Love has not died. It never will. And we belong to love. Lies cannot become truth. They never will. And we belong to truth. Our country has not been overcome by darkness. Because our country has us.