Activism Canonised with Mary Mckillop?
Should we adopt this Charter for Compassion as our Lenten “pilates”?
I plundered this non-violently from the National Catholic Reporter:
“How can we mark Lent? Whilst it’s good to give up sweets (and eat healthy!), I hope we can all make similar efforts during these forty days to join local campaigns of Lenten repentance and conversion to Gospel nonviolence.
That may mean attending a weekly peace vigil, giving time each week to write to politicians and the media, meeting with local church leaders, or joining some national event to protest our wars and weapons.
The practice should help us to accompany in spirit the nonviolent Jesus who walks from the desert – where he rejects the temptations to violence – to Jerusalem, where he confronts the structures of violence and gives his life for humanity through loving nonviolence.
Somehow, we need to walk with him, share his spirit, take up his cross and carry on his work of compassion and peace.
Compassion is the heart of things. Last month a priest friend on Prince Edward Island told me that at all his weekend Masses he recently read the Charter for Compassion, drafted by Karen Armstrong and other religious leaders.
He did it, he said, to encourage everyone to reflect anew on their own compassion as a way to renew their discipleship, as a measure of their spiritual life.
So I went off and looked it up, the Charter for Compassion, which Sr. Joan Chittister has written about for the National Catholic Reporter. It declares that compassion lies at the heart of every major religion. It is the link to our basic humanity, the key to an authentic spiritual life.
As we embark on forty days of Lenten nonviolence and compassion, I offer here below the interfaith-based Charter of Compassion in the hope that it resonates in our hearts and inspires us to spend Lent repenting of violence, becoming more compassionate and nonviolent – individually, nationally, globally.
Charter for Compassion
The principle of compassion lies at the heart of all religious, ethical and spiritual traditions, calling us always to treat others as we wish to be treated ourselves. Compassion impels us to work tirelessly to alleviate the suffering of our fellow creatures, to dethrone ourselves from the centre of our world and put another there, and to honor the inviolable sanctity of every single human being, treating everybody, without exception, with absolute justice, equity and respect.
It is also necessary in both public and private life to refrain consistently and empathically from inflicting pain.
To act or speak violently out of spite, chauvinism or self-interest, to impoverish, exploit or deny basic right to anybody, and to incite hatred by denigrating to others – even our enemies – is a denial of our common humanity.
We acknowledge that we have failed to live compassionately and that some have even increased the sum of human misery in the name of religion.
We therefore call upon all men and women to restore compassion to the centre of morality and religion – to return to the ancient principle that any interpretation of scripture that breeds violence, hatred or distain is illegitimate – to ensure that youth are given accurate and respectful information about other traditions, religions and cultures – to encourage a positive appreciation of cultural and religious diversity – to cultivate an informed empathy with the suffering of all human beings – even those regarded as enemies.
We urgently need to make compassion a clear, luminous and dynamic force in our polarized world. Rooted in a principled determination to transcend selfishness, compassion can break down political, dogmatic ideological and religious boundaries.
Born of our deep interdependence, compassion is essential to human relationships and to a fulfilled humanity. It is the path to enlightenment and indispensible to the creation of a just economy and a peaceful global community.”
The practice should help us to accompany in spirit the nonviolent Jesus who walks from the desert – where he rejects the temptations to violence – to Jerusalem, where he confronts the structures of violence and gives his life for humanity through loving nonviolence.
Somehow, we need to walk with him, share his spirit, take up his cross and carry on his work of compassion and peace.
It is also necessary in both public and private life to refrain consistently and empathically from inflicting pain.
To act or speak violently out of spite, chauvinism or self-interest, to impoverish, exploit or deny basic right to anybody, and to incite hatred by denigrating to others – even our enemies – is a denial of our common humanity.
We acknowledge that we have failed to live compassionately and that some have even increased the sum of human misery in the name of religion.”
RJM
Should we adopt this Charter for Compassion as our Lenten “pilates”?
I plundered this non-violently from the National Catholic Reporter:
“How can we mark Lent? Whilst it’s good to give up sweets (and eat healthy!), I hope we can all make similar efforts during these forty days to join local campaigns of Lenten repentance and conversion to Gospel nonviolence.
That may mean attending a weekly peace vigil, giving time each week to write to politicians and the media, meeting with local church leaders, or joining some national event to protest our wars and weapons.
The practice should help us to accompany in spirit the nonviolent Jesus who walks from the desert – where he rejects the temptations to violence – to Jerusalem, where he confronts the structures of violence and gives his life for humanity through loving nonviolence.
Somehow, we need to walk with him, share his spirit, take up his cross and carry on his work of compassion and peace.
Compassion is the heart of things. Last month a priest friend on Prince Edward Island told me that at all his weekend Masses he recently read the Charter for Compassion, drafted by Karen Armstrong and other religious leaders.
He did it, he said, to encourage everyone to reflect anew on their own compassion as a way to renew their discipleship, as a measure of their spiritual life.
So I went off and looked it up, the Charter for Compassion, which Sr. Joan Chittister has written about for the National Catholic Reporter. It declares that compassion lies at the heart of every major religion. It is the link to our basic humanity, the key to an authentic spiritual life.
As we embark on forty days of Lenten nonviolence and compassion, I offer here below the interfaith-based Charter of Compassion in the hope that it resonates in our hearts and inspires us to spend Lent repenting of violence, becoming more compassionate and nonviolent – individually, nationally, globally.
Charter for Compassion
The principle of compassion lies at the heart of all religious, ethical and spiritual traditions, calling us always to treat others as we wish to be treated ourselves. Compassion impels us to work tirelessly to alleviate the suffering of our fellow creatures, to dethrone ourselves from the centre of our world and put another there, and to honor the inviolable sanctity of every single human being, treating everybody, without exception, with absolute justice, equity and respect.
It is also necessary in both public and private life to refrain consistently and empathically from inflicting pain.
To act or speak violently out of spite, chauvinism or self-interest, to impoverish, exploit or deny basic right to anybody, and to incite hatred by denigrating to others – even our enemies – is a denial of our common humanity.
We acknowledge that we have failed to live compassionately and that some have even increased the sum of human misery in the name of religion.
We therefore call upon all men and women to restore compassion to the centre of morality and religion – to return to the ancient principle that any interpretation of scripture that breeds violence, hatred or distain is illegitimate – to ensure that youth are given accurate and respectful information about other traditions, religions and cultures – to encourage a positive appreciation of cultural and religious diversity – to cultivate an informed empathy with the suffering of all human beings – even those regarded as enemies.
We urgently need to make compassion a clear, luminous and dynamic force in our polarized world. Rooted in a principled determination to transcend selfishness, compassion can break down political, dogmatic ideological and religious boundaries.
Born of our deep interdependence, compassion is essential to human relationships and to a fulfilled humanity. It is the path to enlightenment and indispensible to the creation of a just economy and a peaceful global community.”
The practice should help us to accompany in spirit the nonviolent Jesus who walks from the desert – where he rejects the temptations to violence – to Jerusalem, where he confronts the structures of violence and gives his life for humanity through loving nonviolence.
Somehow, we need to walk with him, share his spirit, take up his cross and carry on his work of compassion and peace.
It is also necessary in both public and private life to refrain consistently and empathically from inflicting pain.
To act or speak violently out of spite, chauvinism or self-interest, to impoverish, exploit or deny basic right to anybody, and to incite hatred by denigrating to others – even our enemies – is a denial of our common humanity.
We acknowledge that we have failed to live compassionately and that some have even increased the sum of human misery in the name of religion.”
RJM
Focus on the gain not the effort…Love is all their is.
love love love