Tag Archives: John Dear
The Spiral of Violence: Weekly Summary
The root of violence is the illusion of separation—from God, from Being itself, from being one with everyone and everything. Continue Reading The Spiral of Violence: Weekly Summary
The Commandment for Peace
The Sermon on the Mount The Commandment for Peace Thursday, July 22, 2021 Feast Day of St. Mary Magdalene My good friend, the life-long peacemaker John Dear, has recently founded The Beatitudes Center for the Nonviolent Jesus. Today he expounds on Jesus’ surprising commandment to “love your enemies,” calling it “the climax of the Sermon… Continue Reading The Commandment for Peace
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
Nonviolence: A Spiritual Superpower
Being Peaceful Change Nonviolence: A Spiritual Superpower Tuesday, July 28, 2020 Be the change you wish to see in the world. —Gandhi My good friend, John Dear, is a devoted student of Mohandas Gandhi and has dedicated his life to the promotion of nonviolence through his activism and writing. John writes: In his search for… Continue Reading Nonviolence: A Spiritual Superpower
Peace and Advocacy for the Poor
Contemplative Activists Peace and Advocacy for the Poor Monday, July 13, 2020 Dorothy Day (1897–1980) gives us a clear example of a contemplative activist. In her case, she began with activism, converted to Catholicism around age 30, and eventually lived out her two callings in a powerful and effective way. My friend John Dear, himself… Continue Reading Peace and Advocacy for the Poor
Peacemakers: Weekly Summary
Peacemakers Summary: Sunday, September 15—Friday, September 20, 2019 Much of Christianity seems to have forgotten Jesus’ teachings on nonviolence. We’ve relegated visions of a peaceful kingdom to a far distant heaven, hardly believing Jesus could have meant we should turn the other cheek here and now. (Sunday) Nonviolence is not ineffective, passive, weak, utopian, naïve,… Continue Reading Peacemakers: Weekly Summary
Meditating on the Sermon on the Mount
Peacemakers Meditating on the Sermon on the Mount Thursday, September 19, 2019 You have heard it said, “Love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” —Matthew 5:43-44 In addition to the Bhagavad Gita, Mahatma Gandhi considered the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew… Continue Reading Meditating on the Sermon on the Mount
Remembering Who We Already Are
Nonviolence Remembering Who We Already Are Monday, August 19, 2019 My longtime friend, Catholic priest and peace activist John Dear, teaches that nonviolence requires three simultaneous attributes: being nonviolent toward ourselves; being nonviolent to others, including creation; and joining the global grassroots movement of nonviolence. John and the Franciscan organization Pace e Bene lead an… Continue Reading Remembering Who We Already Are
An Alternative Community
Community An Alternative Community Friday, May 11, 2018 One of the core principles at the Center for Action and Contemplation is “The best criticism of the bad is the practice of the better.” [1] Nonviolent activist and author John Dear shares the story of a woman and her family who are doing just that. A… Continue Reading An Alternative Community
The Natural World: Week 1 Summary
The Natural World: Week 1 Summary: Sunday, March 4-Friday, March 9, 2018 If I can somehow let my “roots and tendrils” reconnect me with the “givens” of life—not the ideas about life, but the givens, the natural world, what is—I experience extraordinary grounding, reconnection, healing, and even revelation. (Sunday) Soul is the blueprint inside of… Continue Reading The Natural World: Week 1 Summary