A Tribute to Daniel Berrigan On the Road to Peace
Daniel Berrigan, priest, poet, author of more than 50 books, and non-violent resister, was arrested in a peaceful anti-war protest this past Good Friday in New York City. His court date is in June. On May 9th he turned 89. His life is a reminder of the importance of spiritual roots. Malu ‘Aina Peace farm has a guest room named “The Daniel Berrigan suite.” Dan was one of our first guests in that room.
by John Dear SJ See full article at http://ncronline.org/blogs/road-peace/daniel-berrigan-89
Daniel Berrigan exemplifies a Christianity that works for peace, speaks for peace… Dan knows by heart that God does not bless war, justify war, or create war. He points to a nonviolent Jesus who blesses peacemakers, not warmakers; who calls us to love enemies, not kill them; who commands us to take up the cross of nonviolent resistance to empire — not put others on the cross…
For Dan, the spiritual life demands our encounter with the world, and thus, nonviolent resistance to its violence, in the tradition of the peacemaking Jesus… Dan teaches not a comfortable spirituality — with its private relationship to God — but an uncomfortable spirituality that finds God in the poor, in the marginalized, and in the enemy and evokes loving action on their behalf…
Dan writes. “The notion that one has to achieve peace of mind before stretching out one’s hand to one’s neighbor is a distortion of our human experience, and ultimately a dodge of our responsibility. Life is a rollercoaster and one had better buckle one’s belt and take the trip…”
“I know that the prophetic vision is not popular today in some spiritual circles,” he continues. “But our task is not to be popular… We need to live our lives in accord with the deepest truths we know, even if doing so does not produce immediate results in the world… I draw from the prophets a very strong bias in favor of the victim and a very strong sense of judgment of evil structures and those who run them… And the message is very clear. It’s a very clear indictment of every superpower from Babylon to Washington.”
Dan Berigan’s message is a consistent Gospel word — “Do not kill. Do not support the culture of killing. Do all you can to stop the killing…” Over the decades, Dan has stayed faithful to the Gospel journey of peace. He keeps on walking the road to peace, one mindful step at a time, whether others do or not. “We walk our hope and that’s the only way of keeping it going,” he says…
“Peacemaking is tough, unfinished, blood-ridden,” he told one interviewer… Nobody can sustain him or herself in the struggle for a nonviolent world on the basis of the criterion of immediate success…” Daniel Berrigan remains faithful to his vocation and the vision of peace, calling us to do the same — whether we’re successful or not. The focus, he teaches, is on the God of peace, and so, “the outcome is in better hands than ours.” With that, he insists, we can live in hope.
Stop the Wars! Resistance Means Life!
1. Mourn all victims of violence. 2. Reject war as a solution. 3. Defend civil liberties. 4. Oppose all discrimination, anti-Islamic, anti-Semitic, etc. 5. Seek peace through justice in Hawai`i and around the world.
Contact: Malu `Aina Center for Non-violent Education & Action P.O. Box AB Kurtistown, Hawai`i 96760.
Phone (808) 966-7622. Email ja@interpac.net http://www.malu-aina.org
Hilo Peace Vigil leaflet (May 21, 2010 – 453rd week) – Friday 3:30-5PM downtown Post Office
