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Category Archives: Peace
How Can We Disarm Saint Michael?
A deacon friend asked the question in social media today. I have another question: do we want to disarm him? I’m fine with asking the question, but keep in mind that in the endless eternity to come, the archangel won’t … Continue reading
Posted in Peace, Saints
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The Innocents of War
I see Pope Francis taking a bit of heat for referring to Darya Dugina, a Russian nationalist and vocal supporter of war, as an innocent. What is the distinction between a soldier who pulls a trigger, and a citizen who … Continue reading
Posted in Church News, Peace, Politics
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Verweigerung
It’s a great word. It’s from this little bit of wiki, “refusal,” for the martyr Franz Jägerstätter. One cool thing about this icon written by William Hart McNichols that I prefer not to reproduce here is the demon with the … Continue reading
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JP2 On Addressing Terrorism At Its Base
It’s not quite as satisfying as the human indulgence for the visceral, but Pope John Paul II had the measure of things, much more than US politicians of any stripe at the time: International cooperation in the fight against terrorist … Continue reading
Posted in Peace, Politics
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Augustine On A Higher Glory
It is a higher glory still to stay war itself with a word, than to slay men with the sword, and to procure or maintain peace by peace, not by war. I thought Pope Francis’ citation of today’s saint deserved … Continue reading
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Solicited Apologies
When I was growing up, my mom had some strange notion that a person needs to learn to do things like apologize without being prompted. Much. I suppose it was some Baptist literal interpretation of Matthew 5:23, which actually cautions … Continue reading
Natural Consequences
The WaPo notes the waves of ridicule descending on the US from the paragons of 21st century justice Russia, China, Egypt, etc.. Is it time for governments to withdraw totally from finger-wagging? The world is full of hypocrisy. Consistent justice … Continue reading
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17 Tammuz
Tuesday as a fast day for peace: Rabbi Arthur Waskow writes in The American Muslim: What is 17 Tammuz about? It commemorates the day when the Babylonian Army broke through the walls of Jerusalem in 586 BCE, three weeks before … Continue reading
Pacifist Expelled From Jesuits
I saw a story on a conservative blog a few days ago stating that Pope Francis kicked John Dear out of the order. That’s actually not true, according to a more respectable journalist. I encountered John Dear’s autobiography, A Persistent … Continue reading
Selfishness and Peace
An ethic of barely disguised selfishness is no longer a Christian ethic. Nor can we afford to raise this to the national level and assume that the world will adjust itself if every nation seeks its own advantage before everything … Continue reading
Pope John XXIII on Insufficient Influence
In our own day, … as regards the preservation of the security and peace of the whole world … the rulers of individual nations, being all on an equal footing, largely fail in their efforts to achieve this, however much … Continue reading
Talk, Believe, Work
It isn’t enough to talk about peace. One must believe in it. And it isn’t enough to believe in it. One must work at it. This quote is attributed to Eleanor Roosevelt. I don’t know the context of it. I do … Continue reading
The Third Fruit of the Spirit
By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. Peace may be the third of Saint Paul’s nine fruits of the Spirit, but it … Continue reading
Thomas Merton on Prayer and Sacrifice
During the Peace Vigil (noon to five in my central US afternoon), I’d like to post hourly on things I’ve found this past week in my reading and research for materials. Why do Catholics pray, and especially fast? What good … Continue reading
Catholic Sensibility 
Profile In Courage
I read JFK’s Profiles in Courage in middle school. I don’t remember much; I found it a bit dry. But then again, what do adolescents know? The premise is excellent, though, and if it were ever expanded to modern folk, including people … Continue reading →