Leadership , continued from page 3
Violent words have come into our vocabulary , too . Violent behaviors and attitudes have become common and out of control . Are these in line with the footsteps of the one we claim to follow ?
Fr . Dear says that in the Sermon on the Mount , Jesus teaches a practical way of life through nonviolence . “ Love your enemies and then you are really the sons and daughters of the God who lets the sun rise on the good and the bad and the rain to fall on the just and the unjust ” ( Mt 5:44-45 ). “ Love your enemies .” You don ’ t kill your enemies , you love them nonviolently . Jesus describes God as a God of nonviolence . The reign of God is the reign of total nonviolence . If we want to live in the life of God as followers of the nonviolent Jesus , we must recognize every human being as a sister or brother and work untiringly for a new culture of peace and nonviolence . One of our Precious Blood foundresses [ Maria de Mattias ] taught : “ Every person is precious , as precious as the blood of Christ .”
We had hundreds of years of terrible violence through the Middle Ages . Then St . Francis of Assisi enters the scene , and states , “ You can ’ t carry weapons . We are people of prayer , penance , poverty , service to the poor , oneness with the earth , and non-violence .” And he proves it by walking through the war zone during the Crusades to meet the hated enemy — the sultan of Egypt — practicing the nonviolence of Jesus , loving his enemies , armed only with conversation .
Fr . Dear teaches that violence is not the way of Jesus , and that it is not working . Our nuclear
weapons did not protect us on September 11 th , and our war on terrorism is just turning the whole world against us . We are going to have more September 11 th s and large-scale shootings until we wake up , stop bombing the world , and start getting at the roots of terrorism and violence . Instead , let ’ s end hunger , end oppression , end unjust occupations , end far-reaching disease .
As a Province , motivated by the Blood of Christ and called to be ministers of reconciliation , we have taken the following corporate stances :
Corporate Stance Against the Death Penalty ( in which we reaffirm our belief in the sacredness of life and which encourages us to engage in activities which will end the death penalty )
Corporate Stance for Comprehensive Reform of the Immigration System ( in which we affirm the rights of all immigrants to be treated with dignity and respect )
Corporate Stance Against Gun Violence ( which asks us to confront the evil manifested by the culture of violence ). Do you know where your copy is ? Let us incorporate these values into our way of thinking and living .
Years ago , Carey Landry wrote the song , “ There ’ s a Time for Building Bridges ,” which says in part : “ There ’ s a time for loving and a time for embracing . There ’ s a time for throwing all past stones away . There ’ s a time for healing and a time for forgiving . There ’ s a time for building bridges , and that time is now .” I , too , believe that time is now ! �
6 • The New Wine Press • July 2018