John Dear – författare

“Our apologies, good friends, for the fracture of good order, the burning of paper instead of children, the angering of the orderlies in the front parlor of the charnel house. We could not, so help us God, do otherwise.”

Daniel Berrigan was a Jesuit priest, poet, and peacemaker whose words and actions over fifty years have offered a powerful witness to the God of Life. Father Berrigan, along with his brother Philip, was one of the Catonsville Nine, arrested and imprisoned in 1968 for destroying draft files in a protest against the Vietnam War. But this was only one step along a journey of faith.

Through these selections from his many books, journals, poems, and homilies, a chronicle of Berrigan’s life and work unfolds, from the early steps in his vocation to his decision to cross the line and go to prison, his ongoing witness for peace, and his extraordinary commentaries on scripture and the life of radical discipleship.

This book arose from a young man's request that John serve as his spiritual director. He did not believe in God, but he believed in "love and truth and compassion." John replied that those are all names for God, and they agreed that they would speak of Universal Love. From this beginning, John discovered a new understanding of spirituality, and his own life of peacemaking as an exercise in "surrendering to the God of Peace." In short reflections, he outlines what this means, offers practical exercises, and shows how this might lead us more deeply into the meaning of discipleship in a world of violence and conflict.

With a foreword by Nobel Winner Mairead Corrigan Maguire

The Beatitudes are “the hope and prayer and vision of Jesus…the blueprint for Christian discipleship, the job description of every Christian,” says John Dear. These stirring meditations are more than mere reflections. They are a call to action, a summons to take up the Beatitudes as a daily handbook for life, written by an internationally known voice for peace and nonviolence. Set against vivid descriptions of peace efforts in places like Afghanistan; Israel; and Los Alamos, New Mexico, Dear combines scriptural wisdom with practical advice from peacemakers like Gandhi (who regularly read the Beatitudes), Thomas Merton, Dorothy Day, and many more. In each chapter, Dear affirms that the God of peace is alive and at work among us, calling his sons and daughters into the fullness of a life of true, lasting peace.

In a violent world, and amid the reality of catastrophic climate change, it''s easy to feel overwhelmed. Where can we turn to find the courage and inspiration, we need to stay hopeful and to keep working for peace? International peace activist Fr. John Dear has always found support and comfort in the psalms. In this profound and deeply reflective book he helps us see that "if we read the psalms from Jesus'' vision of nonviolence, we will find new strength to turn away from hate and anger toward greater trust and devotion to God and newfound wisdom, gratitude, and wonder."

Filled with stories from his life and steeped in wisdom from both the Eastern and the Western peace traditions, these powerful and prayerful contemplations of thirty-two key psalms will strengthen our daily commitment to nonviolence and love. "May these pages," says Fr. Dear, "encourage you on your journey and lead you to even greater blessings of peace."

"Firm footing for a life of holy trouble." - Shane Claiborne

The Christian faith has a rich tradition of civil disobedience.

Old Testament stories of noncooperation with evil, or prophets standing up to Kings at great cost. Jesus, the nonviolent revolutionary, peacemaker, risk-taker. The early Christian communities, repeatedly imprisoned for speaking truth to power-like Dorothy Day or Martin Luther King Jr., centuries later.

Nonviolent civil disobedience, when rooted in faith, is not only a way to protest unjust laws; it can be an experience of the sacred. It can be both a symbol and the reality of Christ''s love, overcoming the violence that surrounds us.

Within this book you''ll find a civil resister''s field guide to that tradition, and best practices for discernment, court appearances, even jail time. And if there comes a time to cross the line, you''ll find yourself in good company.