Reflection
Lent is a time to place the mystery of God back in the center of our lives, in order to find renewal in our faith and keep our hearts from being consumed by the anxieties and distractions of daily life. Let us begin by disarming our language, avoiding harsh words and rash judgment, refraining from slander and speaking ill of those who are not present and cannot defend themselves. Let us strive to make our communities places where the cry of those who suffer finds welcome, and listening opens paths towards liberation, making us ready and eager to contribute to building a civilization of love.
Pope Leo XIV
Prayer
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace:
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy.”
Action
How can you offer kindness, compassion, attention and welcome to those in your sphere of daily contact?
Suggested Reading
As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace:
1 Peter 4:10
See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone.
1 Thessalonians 5:15
In every community, there is work to be done. In every nation, there are wounds to heal. In every heart, there is the power to do it.
Marianne Williamson
Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success.
Edward Everett Hale
For a community to be whole and healthy, it must be based on people’s love and concern for each other.
Millard Fuller
We have survived apart, and distance has created many problems. We now have a greater challenge; we must learn to live together. It’s a greater challenge than surviving apart, but infinitely more rewarding.
Rev. Jesse Jackson
I believe that we are here for each other, not against each other. Everything comes from an understanding that you are a gift in my life — whoever you are, whatever our differences.
John Denver
Deep listening is an act of surrender. We risk being changed by what we hear. When I really want to hear another person’s story, I try to leave my preconceptions at the door and draw close to their telling.
Valarie Kaur
The greatest single antidote to violence is conversation— speaking our fears, listening to the fears of others, and in that sharing of vulnerabilities discovering a genesis of hope.
Rabbi Jonathan Sacks
I’ve learned that it’s harder to hate up close.
Michelle Obama
If civilization is to survive, we must cultivate the science of human relationships — the ability of all peoples, of all kinds, to live together, in the same world, at peace.
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Get proximate. If you are willing to get closer to people who are suffering, you will find the power to change the world.
Bryan Stevenson
Our goal is to create a beloved community, and this will require a qualitative change in our souls as well as a quantitative change in our lives.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.