EDUCATING YOUNG PEOPLE IN JUSTICE AND PEACE

Here is one paragraph from the Pope’s message.

Only in relation to God does man come to understand also the meaning of human freedom. It is the task of education to form people in authentic freedom. This is not the absence of constraint or the supremacy of free will, it is not the absolutism of the self. When man believes himself to be absolute, to depend on nothing and no one, to be able to do anything he wants, he ends up contradicting the truth of his own being and forfeiting his freedom. On the contrary, man is a relational being, who lives in relationship with others and especially with God. Authentic freedom can never be attained independently of God.

Full Message here.

I would like the angels of Heaven to be among us. I would like an abundance of peace. I would like full vessels of charity. I would like rich treasures of mercy. I would like cheerfulness to preside over all. I would like Jesus to be present. I would like the three Marys of illustrious renown to be with us. I would like the friends of Heaven to be gathered around us from all parts. I would like myself to be a rent-payer to the Lord; that I should suffer distress, that he would bestow a good blessing upon me. I would like a great lake of beer for the King of Kings. I would like to be watching Heaven's family drinking it through all eternity.

St Brigid of Ireland, Abbess of Kildare (c. 450 – 525). Feast Day, 1 February.

Never be in a hurry; do everything quietly and in a calm spirit. Do not lose your inner peace for anything whatsoever, even if your whole world seems upset.

St Francis de Sales, Bishop of Geneva, Doctor of the Church (1567 – 1622). Feast Day, 24 January. He is the patron saint of writers, journalists and of the Deaf.

Wars against nations are fought to change maps; wars against poverty are fought to map change.

Muhammad Ali (born 17 January 1942)

We have disobeyed the law of love. Joyfully we have hated one another; joyfully we have killed one another. And now at last we have brought this great and evil war to an end. But in order to restore peace to the world it was not sufficient to repent. We had to obtain God's pardon through the offering of a great sacrifice...

Dr Takashi Nagai, Mystic of Nagasaki (1908 – 1951)

When Takashi Nagai became a Catholic in 1934 he took ‘Paul’ as his Christian name. He met St MazimilianKolbe OFM Conv, then a missionary in Japan, who died a martyr in Auschwitz on 14 August 1941. Nyodo-dō Hermitage, Nagasaki, built for Takashi Nagai after World War II. ‘Nyodo-dō’ is derived from the words of Jesus, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’.

We are talking only to ourselves. We are not talking to the rivers, we are not listening to the wind and stars. We have broken the great conversation. By breaking that conversation we have shattered the universe. All the disasters that are happening now are a consequence of that spiritual ‘autism.’

Fr Thomas Berry CP, American Eco-theologian (1914-2009)

Suffering Is Not Enough (An Excerpt)

by Thích Nhất Hạnh
(A Buddhist monk born in Vietnam in 1926, now based in France)

Life is filled with suffering, but it is also filled with many wonders, like the blue sky, the sunshine, the eyes of a baby. To suffer is not enough. We must also be in touch with the wonders of life. They are within us and all around us, everywhere, any time.

If we are not happy, if we are not peaceful, we cannot share peace and happiness with others, even those we love, those who live under the same roof. If we are happy, if we are peaceful, we can smile and blossom like a flower, and everyone in our family, our entire society, will benefit from our peace. Do we need to make a special effort to enjoy the beauty of the blue sky? Do we have to practice to be able to enjoy it? No, we just enjoy it. Each second, each minute of our lives can be like this. Wherever we are, any time, we have the capacity to enjoy the sunshine, the presence of each other, even the sensation of our breathing. We don't need to go to China to enjoy the blue sky. We don't have to travel into the future to enjoy our breathing. We can be in touch with these things right now. It would be a pity if we are only aware of suffering.

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid (John 14:27).