Reflection
There comes a time when criticism of the past is simply not enough. There comes a new moment in life when we must dedicate ourselves to creating the future. And that is hard, hard work. At that moment we discover the difference between rabble-rousers and leaders, between critics and prophets, between malcontents and the committed. Finding the openness of heart to imagine the possibility of a full gospel, a just world, an honest government, muddles the mind. Rebuilding is one of the charisms of creation. Rebuilders take what other people only talk about and make it the next generation’s reality. They are people who pay with their lives to make an idea an actuality. They give up prestige and money for the long, hard struggle of turning our little world on its tiny little axle. They build a new world right in the heart of the old. They show us the world that the rest of the world does not want to see until, forced to see it, we can ignore it no longer.
Adapted from Joan Chittister, OSB
Prayer
Make all things new.
Action
Why do you see this as a time to rebuild? What is you hope for the future? How can you become a rebuilder in your own circle?
Suggested Reading
By wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established.
Proverbs 24:3
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
Romans 8:28
What kind of world do we want to leave to those who come after us, to children who are now growing up? The question not only concerns the environment in isolation; the issue cannot be approached piecemeal.
Pope Francis
We have the choice to use the gift of our life to make the world a better place.
Jane Goodall
Be willing to be a beginner every single morning.
Meister Eckhart
The character of a nation comes not from the character of its leader, but from that of the citizens.
Abhijit Naska
We’ve got to rebuild human hearts – and persuade people that hope isn’t just possible, but essential.
Tony Snow
Nothing in the universe can stop you from letting go and starting over.
Guy Finley
Who we are when no one is watching, is the fabric that builds the nations we live in.
Mmanti Umoh
We must rebuild organic communities, where people can come together and have analogue conversations and share stories, art, music and emotions.
Bryant McGill
The beginning is always today
Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
Your pride for your country should not come after your country becomes great; your country becomes great because of your pride in it.
Idowu Koyenikan
It is never too late to be what you might have been.
George Eliot
Why can’t we create a better world? Because those who work for a worse world are more determined than those who work for a better world!
Mehmet Murat ildan
The first step towards getting somewhere is to decide you’re not going to stay where you are.
John Pierpont Morgan
Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end.
Seneca