Peace

Sunday, 24 December 2023: Fourth Sunday in Advent: Love

Robert

It seems to me that one of the happiest lessons in the gospel is that of love. We are told to love one another and to show that love by giving. And that love becomes more like that of God when we see Jesus Himself in those around us, as the apostles did… He taught them about love, about loving. The prodigal son, the sick, the lepers, the privileged, the tax-gatherers, the sinners, those in prison — in other words, loving the unlovable. Love is the reason for it all

— Dorothy Day, an undated entry in her diary, The Duty of Delight: The Diaries of Dorothy Day, edited by Robert Ellsberg (2008)

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Sunday, 17 December 2023: Third Sunday in Advent: Joy

Robert

One of the first conditions of happiness is that the link between man and nature shall not be severed, that is, that he shall be able to see the sky above him, and that he shall be able to enjoy the sunshine, the pure air, the fields with their verdure, their multitudinous life. Men have always regarded it as a great unhappiness to be deprived of all these things.

— Leo Tolstoy, My Religion, translated by Huntington Smith (1885)

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Sunday, 10 December 2023: Second Sunday in Advent: Peace

Robert

If we want there to be peace in the world, we have to be brave enough to soften what is rigid in our hearts, to find the soft spot and stay with it. We have to have that kind of courage and take that kind of responsibility. That’s the true practice of peace.

— Pema Chödrön, Practicing Peace in Times of War

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Sunday, 3 December 2023: First Sunday in Advent: Hope

Robert

Hope is not the same thing as optimism. It is not the conviction that something will turn out well, but the certainty that something makes sense, regardless of how it turns out.

— Václav Havel, Disturbing the Peace: A Conversation with Karel Hvížďala, translated by Paul Wilson (1990)

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The Sunday of Peace

johnnyawwsome

The Fourth Sunday of Advent is a time to celebrate peace. Spread peace as much as you can.

To pass the peace by Clarke Dewey Wells

To pass the peace is a revolutionary act.

It means to trust the outsider we fear, to wish well those who have hurt us; and to forgive at last ourselves.

To offer the blessing to those around you is to love your neighbor and yourself and to be at peace with God.

Pax vobiscum. Peace. Peace.

An Adequate Christmas by Jake Morrill

Blessed Rosh Hashanah

CZ

“Rosh Hashanah ushers in the beginning of the Jewish year and is a holiday that celebrates the creation of the world, something that’s reflected in its name, which means “head of the year” in Hebrew.” From Time

Here is a video from the acapela group The Maccabeats

Blessings of peace for the New Year to all of our Jewish friends and family.

Namaste,

Cricket