Aren’t we lucky we have a map, a guide, a source of strength and vision to find our way through the realities of our daily life? What, you may ask, are you talking about? I’m talking about the Gospel. Jesus came to show us “…the way, the truth, the life.” He came that “we may have life and have it to the full. Who doesn’t want fullness of life? The question is how– how do we find our way?
In Everyday Christianity: To Hunger and Thirst for Justice, the U.S. Catholic Bishops, in 1998, wrote: “Being a believer means that one lives in a certain way–walking with the Lord, doing justice, loving kindness, and living peaceably among all people. Christian discipleship means practicing what Jesus preached. Discipleship is found in a relationship with Christ and a commitment to his mission of bringing “glad tidings to the poor, liberty to captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free.”
When Jesus sent the disciples out, he sent them two by two. We can’t be peacemakers alone—the road is too lonely, too tough; it may seem impossible. But, together we can work to build the kingdom “on earth as it is in heaven.”
I hope you join the journey. Read the blog. Contribute to the blog; share your efforts to live a certain way—walking with the Lord, doing justice, loving kindness and living peaceably among all people.
What does “living peaceably among all people” mean to you?
Notre Dame Sister Kathleen Ryan is the Director of the Diocese of Cleveland Social Action Office. She is responsible for creating and implementing programs and pursuing legislative advocacy for peace, social and economic justice. She is beginning her 25th year at Catholic Charities and the diocese after a nineteen year teaching career. She recently was named Coordinator of the Sisters of Norte Dame, Chardon, OH, Justice, Peace and the Integrity of Creation Committee. 
The Sisters of Notre Dame of Chardon, Ohio, belong to an international congregation of more than two thousand apostolic women religious. We are one in mind and one in heart for the transformation of the world in Christ. 
{ 19 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi Kathleen, Congratulations on your justice blog. I am looking forward to future posts.
Thank you Julie. You have always been a voice for peace with justice.
Living pecefully with all people begins with building trust, avoiding judgement, communicating needs, and suffering the frustrations of the bumps in the road which are sure to come.
Olivia,
Your words remind me of how much our message of living a certain way, peacefully with all people requires of us.
Living peacefully among all people means making efforts to expand my circle of friends to include those of different cultures, faiths, languages and ages.
Sally,
Thanks for the comments. The circle is a perfect image. You can always make room for one more person. You can see “eye to eye.” Everyone is included and equal.
Living peaceable among all people means accepting ourselves and each other as we are, with our different strengths, weaknesses, attitudes and outlooks on life. It means not trying to pursuade others to my own point of view.
Carol,
Thanks. That welcoming attitude you describe is a life long goal.
Keep up the good work Kathy! I marvel at what you have accomplish over the years to spread the GOOD NEWS!
Thanks, Francismarie,
You have been a peacemaker on this path for a long time yourself.
Thank you for your blog, Kathy! I look forward to being informed and challenged by your words. I always remember what Thomas Merton, the Trappist monk, said. When he first joined the peace and justice movement, he began by closing doors more softly. Peace and justice begin with the small acts and gestures of everyday life.
For one thing, living peaceably means encouraging others to live peaceably by writing a blog promoting social justice. Thank you for doing this, Kathleen!
It means to be and to do what we can to make others´ lives as good as our own… and, preferably, do it in community.
Kathleen, your choice of “living, rooted, reaching tree” as image of the blog’s goal speaks the feminine Face of God. Congratulations and thanks as you bring us closer to her through your conversations with us.
For me, peacefull living with all grows from a strong belief of belonging deeply to this tree of life. May this become ever more true.
Congratulations on the blog launch!
Peaceful living can be had by believing that one can be truly rich not by having the MOST but by needing the least.
Kathy, congratulations on your new blog. I feel that living peacefully means acceptance of each other.. the good and not so good parts of us and giving recognition to another welcoming them. This is indeed a life long goal.
Kathleen, Thank you for your blog. I look forward to sharing the journey with you, and living peacefully by respecting the dignity of each person.
Thanks, Kathy, for all you do and have done over these years to raise the consciousness level of young and old! I’m so glad that you continue to educate our youth by your example and presence among them–and us!
You are in my prayer that you may be able to continue this work for a long time to come. I especially appreciated your taking the opportunity to address our local community when you were here on March 5. Your blog is just one example of your generosity of spirit in sharing and leading.
Living peacefully for me is living with out stretched arms, willing to let go of miopic goals and to receive and share the gifts of peace, challenge,love.
Thanks Kathy. I look forward to your blogs