Focused

When I decided to really buckle down and study,
I’d study fifteen or sixteen hours a day.
I’d have breakfast, lunch, and dinner
with a book in front of me,
never taking my eyes off what I was reading.

–Fidel Castro

Word of the Day

Word of the day, via Abbie Amico: In the Filipino language of Tagalog, there exists a word by the name of Kapwa. Literally translated it means “I’m not me without you” but as with other words, the English language does not do it justice.

Sumud by Madeline Buthod

PSC member Madeline Buthod is on an Inter-Faith Peace Builder’s delegation and offers us the following testimony…

Today we went to the Tent of Nations, a hilltop farm just outside of Bethlehem. To get there we all piled in the tour bus and headed down an Israeli highway. I’d like to take a minute to explain that the bus has yellow Israeli license plates so we are allowed on these roads which connect illegal settlements to each other and to Israel. It is illegal for Palestinians to use these roads. Having these plates also allows us to go through check points with ease and without being stopped-a luxury not awarded to Palestinians who must show IDs and have proper permits depending on the checkpoint.

What It’s Going to Take

Mev:  Did you suffer any threats?

Ilza Mendes:  Yes, they would harass me on the streets or encircle our house.  Sometimes I’d come home and find 30 men standing outside my house, all with revolvers in their belts. They’d lift up their shirts to show the revolvers, trying to provoke us.  This police station near our house was their hideout.  We could see the gunmen go straight from our house to visit their friends at the police.  They followed every move Chico made and studied when would be the best time to grab him.  The police who were supposed to be protecting Chico shared their information with the gunmen; even the civil police helped.

American Thoughts

“Banks care about us”
“Banks make our lives easier”
“Banks make money for us”

“Banks support our communities”
“Banks are looking out for us”
“Banks give back”

“Where would we be without the banks?”
“In banks we trust”
“How can we ever express our thanks?”

 

Share the Wealth with Katie Hart and Melissa Hollabaugh: Encountering the Gritty Reality: Experiences in El Salvador

Melissa Hollabaugh and Katie Hart will be sharing their experience traveling in El Salvador this past summer to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the martyrdom of the Jesuits of El Salvador. Melissa and Katie have been friends for over a decade, sharing their love of social justice and Latin America through high school, college, and beyond. They are currently working and studying here in St. Louis in the hopes of building a society committed to love, justice and hope.

Join us
This Sunday 2 November
Potluck dinner begins at 6:00 p.m.
Melissa and Katie begin sharing at 6:45
At the home of Jim and Diana Oleskevich
4026 Magnolia Place (not Avenue)
63110

Melissa (left) and Katie studying abroad together in the Dominican Republic in 2010.

Reflection on the Book of Mev by Abbie Amico

My copy of The Book of Mev arrived at the most opportune, and the most inopportune time imaginable. I was living in the Peter Claver Catholic Worker House in South Bend, Indiana and was being exposed to solidarity with the marginalized and contemplative living for the first time. I was overwhelmed with the ideas of radical theology, nonviolent direct action, and the grace that sprung forth from every meal. I was learning that my relationship with God wanted out of the box in which I had placed it, and so did my need for community. This attraction to intentional poverty put me in a place of peace and a place of restlessness. This is where I met Mev for the first time.

Share the Wealth, with Brandon Sampson: Recollections from a Semester in Budapest, Hungary

This upcoming Sunday, Brandon will share his experiences living in Budapest, Hungary. For five months this past spring Brandon lived life as unstructured and un-expecting. He will share some adventures in making new friends, traveling around Europe, and embracing a life unencumbered by the trials of college students in America. This sharing will include stories from Vienna, Prague, Istanbul, Hungarian clubs, and friendship made in Budapest.

Join us
Sunday 26 October
Potluck dinner begins at 6:00 pm
Brandon begins sharing at 6:45
At the home of Patrick and Cristina Cousins
3856 Utah Place
Saint Louis 63116

 

Gratitude

Sometimes you encounter people who are so pure, beautiful, and content. They give you the impression that they are divine, that they are actually saints or holy beings. What you perceive in them is their awakened self, their Buddha nature, and what they reflect back to you is your own capacity for being awake.
–Thich Nhat Hanh, Your True Home

 

Mirrors
Not pedestals
I need to see…
Eyes meeting eyes
Yours to mine
Not looking up
At you
For that distances us

Your being awake
Nudges me
To being awake
Or at least
Come to see
That there’s a better way to go through life
Than sleepwalking

Daily Gatha

Picking up the mail from the floor
I vow with all beings
To open and read each personal letter
With calm appreciation