“Peace cannot be built on exclusivism, absolutism, and intolerance. But neither can it be built on vague liberal slogans and pious programs gestated in the smoke of confabulation. There can be no peace on earth without the kind of inner change that brings man back to his right mind. ”
― Thomas Merton, Gandhi on Non-Violence p. 31
oil painting Ted Barr
HE HANDED IT TO ME THEN, I DUNNO, how I did it—knew I shouldn’t, but I just sliced me a slice of fruit with the ol’ barlow knife while I was looking at a coiled up snake, who’d been talking to my woman.
Yes, damnit, I know I should have been suspect of a talking snake. Howsoever, first thing I know, I was making moonshine, skip and go naked foolin’ round til waay after midnight, every-night, everything seemed clear for a while, but trouble was I ended up havin’ to get-a-job, plus plow the farm and then the woman left, and I had to take care of the kids too, and keepin’ the house from fall’n apart.. No more huntn’ and fishin’ just makin’ mortgage payments for a farm I had been given free and clear long ago. Before the bank was even a notion, and…
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James Ross Kelly lives in Northern California next to the Sacramento River. Mr. Kelly was a long-time resident of Southern Oregon where he grew up. This poem will be published in his new book of poems Black Ice and Fire by Uncollected Press in 2020. Additionally, And the Fires We Talked About published by Uncollected Press in 2020 is Mr. Kelly’s first book of fiction. View all posts by James Ross Kelly Published May 22, 2020
God is bread when you’re hungry, water when you’re thirsty, a harbor from the storm. God’s father to the fatherless, a mother to the motherless. God’s my sister, my brother, my leader, my guide, my teacher, my comforter, my friend. God’s the way-maker and burden-bearer, a heart-fixer and a mind-regulator. God’s my doctor who never lost a patient, my lawyer who never lost a case, my captain who never lost a battle. God’s my all in all, my everything.God’s my rock, my sword, my shield, my lily of the valley, my pearl of great price. God’s a god of peace and a god of war. Counselor, Emmanuel, Redeemer, Savior, Prince of Peace, Son of God, Mary’s little baby, wonderful Word of God.
Thea Bowman (1937–1990) was a Franciscan Sister of Perpetual Adoration born in Mississippi.
In my ongoing conversation with my fellow Christians on the dangers of mixing faith and politics, people will often point to an obscure reference in the […]
The man born blind was not blind as the result of any sin, and yet people tried to find excuses to justify their indifference to him. We must not follow […]
Source: Christians Must Not Excuse Themselves From Helping Others | Henry Karlson
In the late modern world something like socialism is the only possible way of embodying Christian love in concrete political practices.
St. John One: One 