A Peace-Full Way to End a Good Day

Tuesdays are my days off, and I generally take them either pretty seriously or pretty frivolously, and either way is good. Yesterday was full of both. First, I found myself at an incredible lunch and fundraiser for YouthCare, a charity that helps homeless youth. The Orion Center is part of their operation, and St. Bridget has had a connection with O.C. for years. But I was unprepared for seeing and meeting three "former street youth" that attended this event. One gave a talk about his own journey through being a heroin and crack addict, to going back to school to get a degree in Chemistry & being reunited with his father, who came up and embraced him at his table, right next to mine. That was followed by two young people who gave dramatic readings of their own poetry, that described their journeys and experiences.

Frankly, I was overwhelmed by the event. The night before, at our JustFaith meeting, we were beginning to review the year we've had together, and one of the questions that was asked was: "What experience made you sad?" I couldn't help but remember watching the DVD "My Own Four Walls." And then, Tuesday at that fundraiser, I just happened to run face into it again. Homelessness with children, with youth ... can't we agree that no child should have to face that?

That was followed by a good head-clearing trip to the local bowling alley... I needed that opportunity to know down a bunch of pins. I worked up a good sweat doing it, too!

But the evening was serious again, not emotional exactly but reflective. There was an open meeting at St. James Cathedral, to hear Marie Dennis speak. Marie is the co-president of Pax Christi International, and Director of the Maryknoll Office of Global Concerns.

It was a very hope-filled evening. I've been a member of Pax Christi USA for a long time, but there hasn't been a chapter in Seattle for several years. Last night's meeting (with 60-80 people there, I think) might have raised enough energy to help get a local group started.

Since it's the Easter season, I thought that this quote would be very worth sharing, from the document Called to Be Peacemakers, developed by Pax Christi USA via a long process of dialogue called the People's Peace Initiative Project:

Our theological reflection on the challenges of peace begins with our own encounter with the Risen Christ. It is our encounter with Jesus that shapes our understanding of peace. It is our experience of the Risen Christ in our families and communities that gives expression to that faith. That faith then impels us to look at the world and to examine the obstacles to peace.
Our society has increasingly come to believe that violence can be redemptive. Violence is thought to have the power to conquer or save us from evil and to establish justice. The power of violence seems more seductive each day as it becomes the preferred way to resolve conflicts.
However, violence in all of its forms is sinful because it destroys human dignity and the common good. When violence becomes institutionalized—as poverty, war, or racism—it becomes a form of idolatry, denying the sovereignty of God and the redeeming power of Jesus Christ’s love. As in the Gospel of John, instead of truth, we get lies; instead of light, darkness; instead of freedom, slavery; instead of life, death.