Bulletin Announcement       Sunday     September 3, 2017             

               FranciscansForJustice.org
 
This Sunday and next, we will look at the
Decalogue for a Spirituality of Franciscan Nonviolence.
 
Let's begin with the first five:
   
Transformative nonviolence calls us to:

1.  Learn to recognize and respect "the sacred" ("that of God" as the Quakers say) in every person, including in ourselves, and in every piece of Creation. The acts of the nonviolent person help to free this Divine in the opponent from obscurity or captivity.

2. 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. To live in the truth of ourselves, without excessive pride, with fewer delusions and false expectations.

3. 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. To recognize and renounce my own violence, which becomes evident when I begin to monitor my words, gestures, reactions.

4. Renounce dualism, the "We/They" mentality (Manicheism). This divides us into "good people/bad people" and allows us to demonize the adversary. It is the root of authoritarian and exclusivist behavior. It generates racism and makes possible conflicts and wars.

5.  Face fear and to deal with it, not mainly with courage but with love.

( by Rosemary Lynch, O.S.F. and Alain Richard, O.F.M)
















 



 











 


 
 
 

 

 



                                 
FACEBOOK:   Franciscans for Justice