The spirituality of nonviolence
From an article by the Center for Action and Contemplation
"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God." Matt 5v9 NIV
"Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness." James 3v18 NIV
Franciscan peacemakers Rosemary Lynch and Alain Richard, identified ten “commandments” for those seeking to live a spiritual life of nonviolence. They called it, “The Decalogue for a Spirituality of Nonviolence”. Active nonviolence calls us:
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To learn to recognize and respect “the sacred” in every person, including in ourselves, and in every piece of Creation....
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To accept oneself deeply, “who I am” with all my gifts and richness, with all my limitations, errors, failings and weaknesses, and to realize that I am accepted by God....
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To recognize that what I resent, and perhaps even detest, in another, comes from my difficulty in admitting that this same reality lives also in me....
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To renounce dualism, the “we-they” mentality. This divides us into “good people/bad people” and allows us to demonize the adversary. It is the root of authoritarian and exclusivist behaviour. It generates racism and makes possible conflicts and wars.
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To face fear and to deal with it not mainly with courage but with love.
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To understand and accept that the New Creation, the building up of the Beloved Community is always carried forward with others. It is never a “solo act.”...
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To see ourselves as a part of the whole creation to which we foster a relationship of love, not of mastery, remembering that the destruction of our planet is a profoundly spiritual problem, not simply a scientific or technological one. We are one.
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To be ready to suffer, perhaps even with joy, if we believe this will help liberate the Divine in others. This includes the acceptance of our place and moment in history with its trauma, with its ambiguities.
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To be capable of celebration, of joy, when the presence of God has been accepted, and, when it has not been, to help discover and recognize this fact.
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To slow down, to be patient, planting the seeds of love and forgiveness in our own hearts and in the hearts of those around us. Slowly we will grow in love, compassion and the capacity to forgive.
A list to meditate on..
See the full list here.
See also Common Good Thinking
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From an article by the Center for Action and Conte, 14/01/2025