Tag Archives: Action
Liberation: Weekly Summary
Liberation Saturday, January 23, 2021 Week Three Summary and Practice Sunday, January 17–Friday, January 22, 2021 Sunday The story of Israel symbolically describes the experience of our own liberation by God, which is both an outer freedom and an inner freedom. Monday Liberation requires individuals willing to stand when no one else will, to sit… Continue Reading Liberation: Weekly Summary
Free to Serve Others
Liberation Free to Serve Others Friday, January 22, 2021 German theologian Dorothee Sölle (1929–2003) describes how seeing with God’s eyes, hearing with God’s ears, and acting with God’s passion for justice is a truly liberating experience that benefits the entire community. Sölle writes: In the sense of theology that liberates, the soul that is united… Continue Reading Free to Serve Others
A Liberating Theology
Liberation A Liberating Theology Wednesday, January 20, 2021 The Brazilian Archbishop Dom Hélder Câmara (1909‒1999) was a truly saintly man and one of my heroes for the Gospel. Although many are not familiar with him today, he was well-known in his lifetime for his love for the poor and his embrace of nonviolence. His teachings… Continue Reading A Liberating Theology
Contemplation and Action Summary: Weekly Summary
Contemplation and Action Summary Saturday, January 2, 2021 Summary: Sunday, December 27, 2020—Friday, January 1, 2021 When we experience the reality of our oneness with God, others, and creation, actions of justice and healing naturally follow. If we’re working to create a more whole world, contemplation will give our actions nonviolent, loving power for the… Continue Reading Contemplation and Action Summary: Weekly Summary
The Second Gaze
Contemplation and Action Summary The Second Gaze Friday, January 1, 2021 New Year’s Day Contemplation happens to everyone. It happens in moments when we are open, undefended, and immediately present. —Gerald May Even after fifty years of practicing contemplation, my immediate response to most situations includes attachment, defensiveness, judgment, control, and analysis. I am better at… Continue Reading The Second Gaze
Changing Ourselves, Not the Other
Contemplation and Action Summary Changing Ourselves, Not the Other Thursday, December 31, 2020 New Year’s Eve In 1998, I spent three days immersed in the life, spirit, and ministries of Mother (now Saint) Teresa’s (1910‒1997) community at the motherhouse in Calcutta—a year after her death. Our work together ended on October 1, the feast day… Continue Reading Changing Ourselves, Not the Other
Models of Integration
Contemplation and Action Summary Models of Integration Wednesday, December 30, 2020 Sister Simone Campbell, SSS is someone who truly lives out her commitment to the contemplative path by her actions in the world. She has served as the executive director of NETWORK, the Lobby for Catholic Social Justice, since 2004. You may know her as… Continue Reading Models of Integration
Standing Still, Moving the World
Contemplation and Action Summary Standing Still, Moving the World Tuesday, December 29, 2020 Give me a place to stand, and I will move the whole earth with a lever. —Archimedes Archimedes (c. 287–c. 212 BCE), a Greek philosopher and mathematician, noticed that if a lever was balanced in the correct place, on the correct fulcrum,… Continue Reading Standing Still, Moving the World
The Politics of Prayer
Contemplation and Action Summary The Politics of Prayer Monday, December 28, 2020 I’ve often said that we founded the Center for Action and Contemplation to be a place of integration between action and contemplation. I envisioned a place where we could teach activists in social movements to pray—and encourage people who pray to live lives… Continue Reading The Politics of Prayer
Grounding Compassionate Action
Contemplation and Action Summary Grounding Compassionate Action Sunday, December 27, 2020 Our theme for the Daily Meditations in 2020 has been Contemplation and Action. We hope that you, our larger CAC community, have found some sort of regular contemplative practice to be sustaining in these challenging times. We hope contemplation has helped you discern what… Continue Reading Grounding Compassionate Action