MtM 39 - Be kind whenever possible

The greatest challenge for our generation is to build peace in society. Without peace we collapse into the horrors broadcasted on the evening news. Across the globe, religion often gets in the way of common sense and decency. It leads people to war over intolerant convictions. Rather than being consumed by dogmatism, fixating on the superiority of my faith versus your faith, let’s build bridges of understanding. Let’s concentrate on our fragile humanity that is caught up and inextricably bound up in theirs. Religion started without books and can most certainly flourish without them. Religion loses its way when holy writings ignite hateful wars. The story is told about a contemporary of Jesus, Rabbi Hillel, who was asked by a gentile to sum up Judaism in the time he could stand on one leg. “That’s simple – he replied – Don’t do to others what you would hate being done to you. That is the Law and everything else is just commentary.”

The way we live, the way we treat others, the way we rise above selfish interest and misguided prejudice, these reflect our true spirituality. You’re not a Christian, if you put yourself first. And you’re not a Muslim, if you don’t help your sisters. You’re not a Hindu, if you cheat. You’re not a Jew, if you lie. You’re not a Buddhist, if you take revenge. The conditional “if” reminds us that, when we fail, we are doomed to start all over again. To appreciate this means to apply it every waking minute. As the Dalai Lama said, “Be kind whenever possible ... it’s always possible!” As human beings we are vulnerable to failure, so the conditional “if” offers a moment to reflect, a pause to choose compassion before failing. Kindness is the essence of religion. By cultivating genuine empathy towards others, we create deep, sincere relationships. Kindness came before scripture and liturgy. Compassion is the real building block of churches, temples and shrines.

I’m privileged to run a refugee shelter. On the coldest night in January, the mercury hovering in single digits, I was delighted that every bed was occupied and twelve, otherwise homeless men, were sleeping comfortably. It was Chinese New Year and I visited them to share a festive meal. They came from Somalia, Yemen, Eritrea, Uganda and Burundi. They enjoyed different cultural heritage, but had one thing in common: a suffering humanity. Through my work I learn how solidarity, cooperation and compassion unite these people who thoughtfully share clothes and shoes, as well as food and advice. In the best days of their life, before today’s suffering, maybe they wouldn’t have spared a second glance at each other. Instead, through collective adversity they have discovered the essence of charity. They learnt that life is a mysterious journey, during which kindness removes fear and insecurity and gives everyone strength to face the future.

MtM 38 - The Golden Rule

At the heart of every system of belief there is a moral core uniting all religions. Known as The Golden Rule, it is a fundamental principle of every faith. The rule is as simple as it is brilliant. It teaches, “Don’t do to others what you wouldn’t have others do to you.” Just imagine how you would feel if somebody did something nasty or hurtful to you. This will help you think twice before doing the same to others. How can we condemn this rule? It’s so universal that literally every faith has discovered and included it in its teachings. Appreciated as a mutual concept, it establishes common ground between all religious people: Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu and Buddhist. It diminishes the prejudice that misleads everyone into believing their own superiority. Since sacred scripture always become a stumbling block, instead of debating holy books, let’s focus on how we treat others and how we apply the Golden Rule in each personal encounter.

I believe there is no better way to foster peace. Every major world religion has expressed this principle by refining its version in either the positive form, “Always treat others as you would like to be treated” or the negative form, “Don’t do to others what you would not like them do to you.” So please consider your actions and ponder their consequences. If they would hurt you on the receiving end, then hold back and control yourself. Don’t inflict that suffering on others. It really couldn’t be simpler, yet for centuries people struggled to apply this theory. The venerable Confucius said the rule must be applied all day and every day. All sages and wisemen across the ages implemented it as a way to dethrone egotism from the centre of consciousness and crown compassion as master of existence. Its mastery helps to familiarized believers with the divine, called in different languages: Vishnu, Allah, Nirvana, Jehovah, Bhagwan, Rama, Tao and God.

Next time you encounter believers of other faiths – a common experience in multicultural, multiethnic Hong Kong – don’t worry whether they are Catholic or Protestant, Shia or Sunni, Hindu or Sikh, Buddhist or Taoist. Yours is not the only spiritual path and others are not lost. There is nothing more divisive than thinking in these terms, as nobody can persuade others to change religion through rational proof alone. The parable of the “Good Samaritan” holds the key to this dilemma. If you were lying on the roadside, robbed, beaten and bleeding, would you worry about your rescuer’s faith? Would you debate reincarnation, scripture or prophets? Would you refuse help and bandages, if you didn’t see eye to eye? When faithfully applying the Golden Rule in every encounter – treating people whoever they might be as precious as ourselves – we are contributing to a peaceful and unprejudiced world nurtured rightly for future generations. 

MtM 37 - The rain comes

The observation is often made that privilege comes with responsibility. Let’s also add that blessings come with obligations. When saying we are blessed with something, let’s pause to reflect on why we are able to say this in the first place. My reflection followed the news of a reality show pulled from Brazilian TV following widespread complaints. It featured a-day-in-the-life of billionaire housewives in that country of extreme poverty. These ladies’ scandalous ostentation grated on viewer’s sensitivity to the point of open revolt. The producers, who initially thought the socially irresponsible lifestyle was entertaining, succumbed to widespread opposition against these ladies’ disregard of poverty. When a protagonist arrogantly claimed, “I’m blessed with a wonderful life”, she set a high-water-mark of indifference to the essence of privilege. It’s easy for anyone to shirk his duty to uphold the rights of the under-privileged he encounters.

How often are blessings misinterpreted? How often does prosperity foster arrogance? How often does success lead to pride? It’s the twisted view of privilege that subverts the essence and purpose of personal blessings. No matter whether it is health, family, intelligence, education or wealth, everything under the sun is nothing but vanity. If it doesn’t foster introspection and service, we got it wrong. If it doesn’t encourage compassion and a desire for justice, we got it wrong. When blessings are kept selfishly, they tarnish our humanity by eroding true potential and restricting growth. Moving from the personal sphere to the global, there is sufficient food to feed everyone, but rich countries warehouse the superfluous; there are adequate resources for everybody to live comfortably, but witness the intolerable Rich-Poor divide; there is opportunity for everyone to work productively, but politics and corruption ensure poverty is perpetuated.

There are sufficient books to teach every child, but sadly decent schools are barred to most. Even good health has become a blessing for those who can afford insurance, while perhaps the next young Einstein chokes in a sweatshop. I believe Earth’s riches were distributed unevenly so that man might share them more equitably and human talents were bestowed unequally, so that man might deploy them more generously. With this comes the searing realization that every blessing is a generosity test – for as freely as we received, must we give! Every time we allow privilege to fly in the face of justice, an opportunity is lost and mankind fails its greatness. Seen in this light, the conviction emerges that people with greater blessings will be measured by a higher standard than others. Since blessings are a debt, let’s reflect on the obligations coupled with ours, because we are the rain that comes to transform and regenerate the land of need.

MtM 36 - Beware of the Procrustean nightmare

An enduring myth, frequently repeated in popular media, is that we only use 10% of our brain. This statement originated with the pioneering psychologist William James, who once wrote: "We are making use of only a small part of our possible mental and physical resources." This low percentile was popularized deceptively by psychics and mediums who supported their paranormal claims by rooting them in this logic. They contended that, if people use only 10% of their brain, then imagine what they could do with the other 90%. While we still know as little about the function of the brain, as we do about the dynamics of atoms and the mechanics of the universe, we should beware of allowing superstition to creep into our consciousness. It’s surprising how magic practices, rites and amulets hold an irrational grip on those who question religion. Many, who dismiss God as an irrelevant delusion, retain a deep respect for superstition.

In today’s fiercely rational digital age, superstition remains perniciously rooted in the general psyche: fortune-tellers entice and seduce; horoscopes are avidly read in magazines and online; astrological websites are thriving; clairvoyants email their zealous, paying subscribers. We know people who invite geomancers to arrange their office and pick auspicious dates for important events, despite professing distrust in everything religious. Undoubtedly, people sense the effect of mysterious powers in their lives and, instead of being theologically alert, they attempt to control, divert and even oppose these powers. Do they fear malevolent spirits? Are they trying to gain favors? Are they fighting supernatural influence with human power? What then marks the difference between common superstition and dark magic? Whatever form they take, these insidious practices endorse the spiritual as something to be feared, to be battled and controlled.

Only a distorted reality emerges from the perilous practice of tailoring spirituality to fit every personal whim and fancy. When a system of belief is syncretized by embracing the desirable and rejecting the undesirable … like celebrating Christmas with presents, but avoiding church … then beware of the Procrústean nightmare! In Greek mythology, Procrústes was a wicked bandit who butchered travelers by stretching or cutting their legs to fit them into his iron bed. Each victim was mutilated to conform to one agonizing standard. Superstition has the same effect on faith by cutting off what is perceived as hindrance and embracing what should instead be renounced. In this self-reliant, individualistic age, spirituality should be appreciated as a relationship uniting God and believer in a mutual commitment of love expressed unambiguously through action. For only through spirituality, not superstition, can mankind develop a fulfilling and lasting happiness.

MtM 35 - A record-breaking bagel

Every Christian, no matter how separated by land, culture and time, shares a strong conviction: we believe God’s presence is experienced in our lives, indeed in human history. We believe God invites us to respond to his love with faith and integrity. This divine call communicates life by revealing a presence that permeates our existence, a friendship that expresses his will, an inspiration that manifests his wisdom. In a similar way that Scripture is “God’s Word in human words”, so our existence should become “God’s Will in human actions”. The greatest burden is not religious obligation, but rather its very absence, that invariably condemns the spiritually bankrupt to the clutches of materialism. Despite prophetic exhortations, ancient Israelites also sought their pleasure on Sabbath. They forsook religious duties by defiantly devising clever ways around the demands of their faith – the clash between worship and egotism had begun.

Ancient rabbis took great pains to enforce religious participation. However, violators went to even greater lengths to achieve their objectives. At first, it wasn’t sufficient to merely prohibit work, because some would say they carried tools for future jobs. Then, it wasn’t enough to prohibit carrying burdens, as cheeky fellows would claim items weren’t heavy, or were portable, or were edible, or that money wasn’t a burden. Excuses became so creative that even rings had to be banned, because people deposited them as cash collateral to be redeemed in the week. Incredibly, there came a time when beggars and tramps were expelled from streets on the Sabbath to avoid giving people pretexts to carry money for alms-giving. It became apparent religious obligation was captive to a shameless ingenuity that aimed to systematically flout people’s duties towards God and community – already the spirit of the law had been distorted.

In the course of time, the height of ridicule was achieved with a record-breaking bagel. People realized that the prohibition to carry burdens only applied to public spaces, not to private ones. Consequently, villagers on nearby streets conceived a cunning plan. Each household contributed a pinch of flower to bake one bagel. That bagel was hung at the main junction with long pieces of string stretching out to define an extended “private home.” There, at last, anyone could carry on with business as usual. This practice turned public streets into private grounds and religious prohibition into a mockery. Since there is no end to human scheming, we are reminded that if we are led by the Spirit, we are not under the constraints of the Law. Therefore, it’s incumbent upon us to actualize a single, supreme commandment: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind … and love your neighbour as yourself!” 

MtM 34 - Protect us from all anxiety

Legend has it that when an Egyptian Pharaoh was on his deathbed, he summoned to his side three wise advisors and inquired, “What will happen when I die?” The most senior and trusted sage then replied hesitantly, “Your Majesty, Lord of all Nations, when you stand before the god of your people, he will ask you two questions. Your answers to these questions will determine what happens for eternity.” Hearing this, the puzzled Pharaoh asked apprehensively, “What will these questions be?” Summoning courage and diplomacy, the sage replied, “Firstly, God will ask you, ‘Were you happy in life?’ Since Your Majesty rules a prosperous land, an affirmative reply is expected. The subsequent question will be the crucial one. God will ask, ‘As I blessed you with so much happiness, how many people did you make happy?’” The Pharaoh closed his eyes and an air of palpable despair wrinkled his forehead as he gasped for his last distressed breaths.

Stories like this stand testament to an enduring anxiety about the meaning of life as we struggle to find answers. Yet for king and pauper there is but one way into this world and one way out. We are all like the Pharaoh, when alienation from God leads to ignorance of his precepts and to dependence on intelligence, technology and medicine. The arrow of time ensures that each moment passes and never returns, so the wise do well to ponder the consequences of their actions. It’s true that nobody can avoid worries, fears and sleepless nights, until what is of earth returns to earth and what is from above returns above. Besides, increased anxiety is caused by the many counterfeit gods in this throwaway culture, who might even outnumber the idols of past millennia. They deceive people by confusing man’s limited capacity to transcend himself, with his anxiety to control existence until the end – in a hopeless attempt at self-deification.

Back in 1989, a wise Argentinean, who gave me my first job in town, told me, “It doesn’t matter if you are the Pope or a prisoner, everyone carries through life an invisible bucket of worries. The only difference is what you decide to carry in it – as everyone’s bucket is full!” During Sunday’s communion rite, my attention is frequently caught by the second part of the petition: "In your mercy keep us free from sin and protect us from all anxiety, as we wait in joyful hope for the coming of our Savior." In point of fact, though sin is a genuine concern, the lack of serenity in modern life is the greatest inhibitor of human accomplishment. If we seek to change the heart, to strengthen willpower and to conform to holy habits, firstly we must destroy the fretful windmills against which we tilt our worries. Let us pray for serenity and avoid the delusion that we can achieve happiness on our own, without trusting in God alone.

From the book of Judith comes deep wisdom, “Listen to me! What you have said to the people today is not right. You have sworn and pronounced this oath between God and you, promising to surrender the town to our enemies unless the Lord helps us within five days. Who are you to put God to the test today, and to set yourselves up in the place of God in human affairs? You cannot plumb the depths of the human heart or understand the workings of the human mind. How do you expect to search out God, who made all these things, and find out his mind or comprehend his thought? No! Do not anger the Lord our God! For if he does not choose to help us within these five days, he has power to protect us within any time he pleases. Do not try to bind the purposes of the Lord our God – for God is not like a human being, to be threatened, or like a mere mortal, to be won over by pleading. Therefore, while we wait for his deliverance, let us call upon him to help us, and he will hear our voice – if and when it pleases him.”

MtM 33 - Pity the crabs

If you could be, have or create anything, what would it be? Now imagine … beyond nature and physics … beyond reality and experience … What would you do? Do you wish for Midas’ touch? Would you seek immortality? Traverse space or time? Create a new universe and call yourself king or queen? Paradoxically, we know what God would do as he did it. He created a beautiful, habitable planet hurtling through dark desolation. Here, the life-giving passion of Love is more adamant, fierce and intense, than its great opposite, Death. Against a backdrop of inhospitable space, he created beauty and laughter, friendship and hope to stimulate reflection beyond the 92 chemical elements that emerged from stardust to constitute matter. The Creator determined that both the atomic particles, shared by all creatures, and the genetic code, established for growth, should reveal something astounding about his design and the fulfillment of his vision.

Filled with beauty and possibility, this planet could have been perfect, but God decided it should be otherwise. He could have created excellence, but that doesn’t required evolution. He could have removed chaos and suffering, but he knew better than that. The truth is, nothing good is achieved without effort and striving. Every element in this world needs to overcome the barriers that divide them. Every human being must seek perfection by first establishing strong and vital bonds with others; thus, friendships are struck, families start and history gradually unfolds in a way we could never conceive. If the distress of its opposite didn’t exist, happiness would mean nothing. Without delicate discovery and precious progression, love would mean nothing. And so, no light was as dazzling as the one that swept away primordial darkness. Honestly, would man fully treasure life and its gifts, without being confounded by the permanence of its eventual loss?

Pity the crabs I saw struggling to escape from a bucket, at a seafood restaurant down the road. When one clambered over some to reach the edge, others grabbed it back and pulled it down, so that none reached freedom. Pity the crabs that struggle with each other, despite having four legs to advance and four legs to pull others up. Why is there suffering? Why is there war? Why are entire economies collapsing like dominos? Why do the gifted declining their responsibility towards the suffering? On a certain horizon of understanding, human beings behave like crabs, in a bucket that is twelve thousand kilometers wide and also offers no freedom outside it. Pity the crabs who don’t know any better than stepping over each other in a frenzy that guarantees collective demise. But, shame on those who should know better than scrambling the heights of greed, power and lust, whilst trampling underfoot the fulfillment of a greater vision.

From the book of Sirach: “The Lord created human beings out of earth, and makes them return to it again. He gave them a fixed number of days, but granted them authority over everything on the earth. He endowed them with strength like his own, and made them in his own image. Discretion and tongue and eyes, ears and a mind for thinking he gave them. He filled them with knowledge and understanding, and showed them good and evil. He put the fear of him into their hearts to show them the majesty of his works. And they will praise his holy name, to proclaim the grandeur of his works. He bestowed knowledge upon them, and allotted to them the law of life. He established with them an eternal covenant, and revealed to them his decrees. Their eyes saw his glorious majesty, and their ears heard the glory of his voice. He said to them, ‘Beware of all evil.’ And he gave commandment to each of them concerning neighbours. Their ways are always known to him; they will not be hidden from his eyes.”

MtM 32 - An understanding heart

One Sunday I almost lost my students’ attention teaching them that wisdom enhances our ability to make decisions, directs us towards lasting success and equips us to overcome failure, while helping us grow in community. Fair enough! Children don’t want to hear how wisdom articulates the principles of living. These ideas are too abstract for them. They don’t appreciate that wisdom cultivates sound reasoning by encouraging discipline, that it helps people live in harmony and be closer to God. Kids understand that being wise is better than being foolish, but for them wisdom is best learnt from adult behaviour: copying role models, rather than being lectured. We should remember that our children are always ‘listening’ to our behaviour and ‘watching’ our choices – whether we put into practice what we preach or not. Teaching wisdom requires that parents exercise their will in adherence to Truth and that we do it with conviction.

Children happily remember how God appeared to King Solomon in a dream and offered to make one wish come true. Instead of asking for all the gold in the world (which incidentally would fill three Olympic-size swimming pools), Solomon, who was only in his twenties, wisely proclaimed: “Give your servant an understanding heart to judge your people and to know good and evil.” God said to him, “Since you have asked for this and not for long life or wealth for yourself, nor have asked for the death of your enemies, but for discernment in administering justice, I will do what you have asked!” While his shortcomings remain legendary, there is no denying the third king of Israel transformed a small tribal nation into an economic superpower. His enduring legacy was the establishment of a climate that allowed wisdom schools to take root and flourish, weaving the richness of his Hebrew heritage with the international traditions he embraced.

For students and managers, for employees and bosses, Solomon’s bequest remains most relevant today, as everyone struggles with judgment to improve life and attain happiness. Yes, wisdom is a prerequisite in everything, as she alone helps us make the right decisions in a fog of hesitation. We would do well to pray like Solomon for wisdom above other blessings, for she can guide through right relationships with others, towards interior peace and a joyful unity with the Almighty. However, wisdom remains a grace never fully attained, for desiring it requires ever more openness to God, while being humbly conscious of his greatness and goodness. To seek wisdom is to appreciate the entire human experience, trusting divine Sovereignty over everything, including our difficult existence. Finally, wisdom allows divine intuition to shape our thoughts, by transforming our mind and attuning it to the cosmic intelligence that sustains the universe.

From the book of Wisdom: “Wisdom I loved and searched for from my youth. I resolved to have her as my bride, I fell in love with her beauty. She enhances her noble birth by sharing God's life, for the Master of All has always loved her. Indeed, she shares the secrets of God's knowledge, and she chooses what he will do. If in this life wealth is a desirable possession, what is more wealthy than Wisdom whose work is everywhere? Or if it be the intellect that is at work, who, more than she, designs whatever exists? Or if it be uprightness you love, virtues are the fruit of her labours, since it is she who teaches temperance and prudence, justice and fortitude. Nothing in life is more useful for human beings. Or if you are eager for wide experience, she knows the past, she forecasts the future. She knows how to turn maxims and solve riddles. She has foreknowledge of signs and wonders, and of the unfolding of the ages and the times.”

MtM 31 - Faith matters

My charity work connects me to the trials and suffering of people who have genuine reasons to believe that God is a delusion and he couldn’t possibly care for humanity in the way religion promises. And if God did, then he’s ineffectual, perhaps even defeated. Among the marginalized people of the world, I believe that refugees suffer the harshest lot, for they are the wounded survivors of the worst hatred among men. The Latin aphorism, “homo homini lupus” (Man prays on man like a wolf) cautions against those who attack the powerless; those who wreak havoc in the dark night of helpless despair; those who cut short innocent lives with callous abandon; those who leave nothing behind of homes and villages, but blackened ruins. There is a darker side to human nature that laws, treaties, conventions and prayers, have failed to control even today, in the 21^st century. The godless ruthlessly ensure that “might is right” across much of the globe.

Each of us contemplates divine justice within the framework provided by the experiences that make us who we are. We might appreciate the advantage of “turning the other cheek” in a civilized society where police respond in minutes to emergency calls, as recently happened to me after 22 years in Hong Kong. But how do we relate this belief to the conditions that prevail across three-quarters of the world, where violence strikes ferociously and most victims fall silently and unwitnessed? My friend Joseph was shot twice in his right leg. However, both bullets narrowly missed his tibia, which allowed him to escape and dodge death. I wouldn’t go as far as calling it a miracle, but, crucially, events like this either reinforce or weaken our trust in God. It is said that “a faith untested is no faith at all”, which raises the question: why are some people repeatedly cast into life and death trials, while others comfortably breeze through life?

How sad to reduce faith to mindless routines, to tedious rubrics of liturgy, to rituals seemingly of a bygone era embraced through customs and religious nostalgia. Look how often baptism is received as a pure formality. It becomes a perfunctory event to satisfy conventions, rather than entrust children to the Living God, who guarantees to strengthen them for every future trial. What can we aspire to without the uplifting power of faith? How can we grapple with the enigma of life and the mystery of suffering and death without faith? What vanquishes fear and anxiety? When religion is sidelined in the pursuit of egotism, what follows is a progressive weakening of the spiritual strength that is foundational to human resilience. We are free to treat God as an unreasonable fantasy and superstition, but it subtracts enormously from our potential – for faith alone elevates the mind above petty concerns, enlightens reason and enhances human dignity. 

MtM 30 - From love to unity

“God is Love!” call bracelets, stickers, tshirts and even a sign down on Queen’s road. I’ve seen these words, often accompanied by John 3:16, on the façade of churches, at the entrance to shelters, on bright billboards along darkened roads. These three simple words are translated into every known language, yet the depth of their meaning take a lifetime to grasp and might only be explained across the Great Divide. Human love can never describe its divine origin, for our feelings are never far from the contamination of egotism and insularity, prejudice and vanity that pollute the purest expression of our most noble intentions. Dorothy Day expressed it succinctly saying, “I really only love God as much as I love the person I love the least.” When we harbour even the tiniest anger, intolerance or bigotry, we subtract something essential from the scriptural command always to love and … “be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy!”

No matter where God puts us, there are only two ways through life: the Way of Nature and the Way of Love. Everyone chooses daily which one to follow. Love never tries to please itself, love accepts being offended, disliked and unappreciated. Love accepts pain and insults, hatred and ungratefulness. Love seeks harmony and unity at the cost of personal sacrifice. Love forgets itself for the greater good in a vision of what really matters when even Time has melted away. To the contrary, nature wants to please itself and get others to please it, too. Nature aims to enrich itself, while cunningly despoiling others. Worst yet, nature wants to lord it over others, enslaving, controlling, exploiting for its cold-hearted ends. Nature wants to have its way and confronts any opposition, as is equally demonstrated by spoiled children and raging dictators. Where nature wounds and divides, love erects bridges of unity across frailty and weakness.

When God is love, then his love is expressed through people. It manifests itself in tangible ways: in reconciliation, forgiveness, outreach to the needy, mutual support, solidarity with incurable suffering and genuine concern for justice and peace. Through love, what seems confusing turns into new horizons, what seems unfair turns into new opportunities, what seems discouraging turns into new insights. Whereas nature envelops with worries and anxieties that make us feel small, love instead unlocks our best, so we may have life and have it to the fullest. Let’s allow love to change our heart. Let’s start genuinely with family and friends, promoting unity, kindness and generosity; mindful that God is working through us in pursuance of his divine purpose. Let’s not forget that our words and deeds have much to say in how love moves towards fulfilling God’s Unity, that is centered on enhancing and uplifting the lives of all people.

  

With Dorothy Day let’s reflect, “The greatest challenge of the day is: how to bring about a revolution of the heart. What we would like to do is change the world and make it a little simpler for people to feed, clothe, and shelter themselves as God intended them to do. And, by fighting for better conditions, by crying out unceasingly for the rights of the workers, of the poor, of the destitute, we can, to a certain extent, change the world. We can work for the oasis, the little cell of joy and peace in a harried world. We can throw our pebble in the pond and be confident that its ever widening circle will reach around the world. We realize there is nothing we can do but love, and, dear God, please enlarge our hearts to love each other, to love our neighbor, to love our enemy as our friend. With such a love one would see all things new; one would begin to see people as they really are – as God sees them.”