Don’t waste any time dividing the world into good guys and the bad guys. Hold them together in your own soul— where they are anyway—and you will have held together the whole world.
+ Richard Rohr, priest and author
I am a place where God’s love Turns up in this world.
+ M. Basil Pennington, Trappist monk and spiritual writer
If you see on the evening news a person who moves you by his/her distress, just breathe it in and breathe out to him/her love and strength.
+ Andrew Harvey, spiritual teacher
DOES IT SEEM TO YOU that the world as we know it is falling apart? This summer alone, we have witnessed so many weather-related tragedies that I’m having a difficult time sorting it all out in the physical and spiritual realm. I do believe in climate change, which has led to global warming in spades this summer in many parts of the planet. Usually when I hear about weather- related events like hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, earthquakes, forest fires, etc., I listen for the comment of when was the last time such an event happened in a particular area. I’ve heard a lot of firsts this summer, and I trust that the meteorologists are checking their records for accuracy.
The recent forest fires on the island of Maui, Hawaii, have really tried my faith as I saw and heard the stories of so many people in distress and experiencing grief of such a proportion that I could barely catch my breath seeing and hearing such devastation on that beautiful island. I had the privilege of going to Hawaii in 1977 with my former fifth grade teacher, Sister Reginald. We visited four islands in ten days, and my favorite was Maui. The people, the lovely beaches, the special towns, and the ancient Banyan tree are wonderful memories that come back to me as I saw the ravages of what fire can do to a people on an island. Where does one go when the island you live on is burning?
As often happens after such tragedies, we look for the good guys/ gals and the bad guys/gals. Someone always has to take the blame for who, what, where, when, and why such a horrific thing happened. I turn to Father Richard Rohr’s warning: Don’t waste any time dividing the world into good guys and bad guys. Hold them both together in your own soul—where they are anyway— and you will have held together the whole world. Praise God that you are sensitive to the needs of our brothers and sisters and hold them together in your own soul. Frustration may set in because you want to do something and you may be able to do something. We can follow Andrew Harvey’s advice and just breathe in and breathe out love and strength to those we see in terrible distress and trauma. Remember the Trappist monk Basil Pennington’s words of wisdom, that you are a place where God’s love turns up in this world. These reminders about loving your neighbor, and not just the people next door, include the people you see on TV and in the news in Maui, in Canada, in Ukraine, in Russia, in Africa, in Europe, everywhere there are people who need our love and support from right where we are. If we can go to them as caregivers, first responders, financial supporters, etc., that is well and good. Please realize though that we are the signs, the place where God’s love turns up in this world. As the song goes, What the world needs now is love, sweet love… and let’s stop dividing the world into good guys/gals and bad guys/ gals. This is how we hold the world together. Amen.
Sister Mary Thill is a Sylvania Franciscan Sister. She can be reached at mthill@sistersosf.org. ✲
