Friends,
My Dominican family in Ukraine continues to be a supportive and courageous presence to the Ukrainian people. Their latest letter to us quotes from the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World of the Second Vatican Council: “Peace is not merely the absence of war; nor can it be reduced solely to the maintenance of a balance of power between enemies; nor is it brought about by dictatorship. Instead, it is rightly and appropriately called an enterprise of justice”
— Joseph Kilikevice, OP
Friends,
In his Daily Meditations page my friend and colleague, Matthew Fox quotes Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heshel who offers much to think about regarding Christian Nationalism.
Let there be an end to the separation of church and God, of sacrament and callousness, of religion and justice, of prayer and compassion….Prayer must never be a citadel for selfish concerns, but rather a place for deepening concerns over other people’s plight….Prayer is meaningless unless it…seeks to overthrow and to ruin the pyramids of callousness, hatred, opportunism, falsehoods.
— Joseph Kilikevice
Dear sisters, dear brothers,
“I am trying to remember how it was before the war. It is so hard,” said Father Misha when we ran into each other at the door of our warehouse filled with humanitarian supplies. He seemed to be surprised by his own emotions. It was a beautiful sunny day in Kherson with a chill in the air. Yet as we were unloading multiple tons of flour by hand, we couldn’t feel the cold. Similarly, we didn’t pay much attention to the repeated sound of distant explosions that we could hear from this frontline city of southern Ukraine. The flour we brought was for the bakery and kitchen which supply the people in need and are run by the House of Saint Martin de Porres. Every morning they make hundreds of loaves of bread. The bakery workers had quickly learned to bake the finest bread, rolls, and sweet pastries. We all do everything we can to make sure that what we hand out to the city’s citizens is of the highest quality.
Friends,
This speech from our Illinois Governor, JB Pritzker came on my car radio recently while I was driving. Realizing that he was saying something of significance not only to Illinois citizens but to the rest of the country, I parked the car on a side street to listen with greater attention. I found his well crafted speech delivered with a sense of urgency and conviction and had a message for the whole country. I place it here inviting you to take time to hear it and to read some of it here. I hasten to add that it holds a message that is about right and wrong, good and evil, survival and not surviving. Please take the time to consider and act on his words however you may choose to do so.
May our country survive the forces that assault us.
— Joseph Kilikevice
Shem Center Director Emeritus
“May our struggles and concern for this planet never take away the joy of our hope.”
(Laudato Si)
Laudato Si’ is the second encyclical of Pope Francis, subtitled “on care for our common home”. In it, the Pope criticizes consumerism and irresponsible economic development, laments environmental degradation and global warming, and calls all people of the world to take “swift and unified global action”.
Dear sisters, dear brothers,
“If we truly trust God, then maybe this most stupid war in the world will come to an end. I came because the Pope wanted me to be with you during this Christmas time,” said Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, the papal almoner, while in Fastiv the day before Christmas Eve. This was already his second visit to Fastiv since the beginning of the full-scale war. This time we celebrated together with the people from the refugee house, the members of the Dominican family, and the volunteers and friends from the St. Martin de Porres Center. “I want to share with you joy because God is born, and he brings peace. Let’s hope that this is the last Christmas of wartime.”
Dear family and friends,
Whenever there was a new niece or nephew born into my family, I have vivid memories of seeing them for the first time. I recall being asked, “Would you like to hold her or him?” The joy of doing so was being shared with the rest of the family by proud parents bringing new life into the world. Not having children of my own, this simple gesture remains a beautiful memory of knowing that there are times when joy is much too big to be kept to oneself. One naturally holds the infant on the left side of one’s chest, connecting heart to heart with the blessing of new life.
Today is a crisp, bright day with a clear, blue sky. Our country’s flag flys above the Oak Park Fire station across the alley. I can see it from my bedroom window, at times flown at half mast to honor a recently deceased firefighter. Today it proudly flys to the top of the pole. This day is now called Veteran’s day, but I grew up knowing it as Armistice Day. It marked the end of the World War One in 1918. My Dad fought in that war in France as a newly arrived American immigrant from his Lithuanian homeland. He was just 17 years old. Years later my younger brother, John was born on Armistice day, and we always celebrated both events together as something special to be acknowledged. His son, Shawn called me today to talk a bit as he frequently does.
The Creation Spirituality Lineage Calling All Social and Environmental Activists, Mystic Explorers, Justice Makers, Cosmic Thinkers, Earth Keepers
Matthew Fox (b. 1940) is an internationally acclaimed spiritual theologian, Episcopal priest, and activist who was a member of the Dominican Order for 34 years.
SIGN UP FOR DAILY MEDITATIONS WITH MATTHEW FOX.
Sixty years ago, the first night of the Second Vatican Council, Pope John XXIII came out on a balcony overlooking St. Peter’s Square and gave his impromptu remarks now called “the moonlight speech.” I remember it well, making its way into the world via the news media.
Looking out over the crowd and smiling the Pope said,
“Here all the world is represented. One might even say that the moon rushed here this evening – Look at her high up there – to behold this spectacle.”
Shem Center for Interfaith Spirituality
708 North Harvey Avenue
Oak Park, IL 60302
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Photo Credits: Emory Mead, Stephen B. Starr, Joseph Kilikevice
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