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Practicing Peace: A Devotional Walk Through the Quaker Tradition, by Catherine Whitmore. Sorin Books, 2007.
In this book the author applies the Quaker tradition of peacemaking to everyday living in such a way that readers may be truly shaken from complacency. She offers inspirational stories of nonviolence, quotes from great Quaker leaders, and best of all pointed questions for prayer and reflection. This book is well suited for group study as a powerful
instrument for peace in a world that knows so much about war. There is little danger that this book will make one feel comfortable.
Some favorite stories include this one about a devout peacemaker who devoted her life to make life better for war victims, by helping to build houses and provide supplies for war victims. She was not Catholic and the law said that she could not be buried in a Catholic
cemetery. Many who had profited from her generosity after World War I, devised a plan to bury her just outside the Catholic cemetery, and then when the dust settled, they moved the fence to include her burial site.
Forgiveness is a common theme among Quakers, as shown in this story: A German official, who during World War II had oppressed the people of Finland, came for the 35th anniversary
of the rebuilding of that province. All during the two day celebration, the German was treated with utmost respect; no mention was made of his part in destroying the country 35 years ago, although the villagers knew what he had done. The focus of the days was on the recovery, not on the destroyer. His voice broke as he thanked the Finns for their spirit of forgiveness. Generosity had triumphed over vindictiveness.
(On the day that Mandela was released from prison, he was heard to say, "If I don't forgive my jailers, then I remain imprisoned. ")
This quote from William Penn came in 1682: "True godliness does not turn people out of the world, but enables them to live better in it, and excites their endeavors to mend it."
Paperback and Kindle
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Saint of the Week
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St. Paul Miki and Companions(d. 1597): Feb. 6
Nagasaki,
Japan, is familiar to Americans as the city on which the second atomic bomb was dropped, immediately killing over 37,000 people. Three and a half centuries before, 26 martyrs of Japan were crucified on a hill, now known as the Holy Mountain, overlooking Nagasaki. Among them were priests, brothers and laymen, Franciscans, Jesuits and members of the Secular Franciscan Order; there were catechists, doctors, simple artisans and servants, old men and innocent children-all united in a common
faith and love for Jesus and his Church.
Brother Paul Miki, a Jesuit and a native of Japan, has become the best known among the martyrs of Japan. While hanging upon a cross, Paul Miki preached to the people gathered for the execution: "The sentence of judgment says these men came to Japan from the Philippines, but I did not come from any other country. I am a true Japanese. The only reason for my being killed is
that I have taught the doctrine of Christ. I certainly did teach the doctrine of Christ. I thank God it is for this reason I die. I believe that I am telling only the truth before I die. I know you believe me and I want to say to you all once again: Ask Christ to help you to become happy. I obey Christ. After Christ's example I forgive my persecutors. I do not hate them. I ask God to have pity on all, and I hope my blood will fall on my fellow men as a fruitful rain."
When missionaries returned to Japan in the 1860s, at first they found no trace of Christianity. But after establishing themselves they found that thousands of Christians lived around Nagasaki and that they had secretly preserved the faith. Beatified in 1627, the martyrs of Japan were finally canonized in 1862. americancatholic.org site
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