In yesterday’s DM, we spoke of the resistance going on in our time. Honoring people of courage and values is a kind of resistance, also.
We sometimes call them saints for what they have undergone in defense of values that speak to the best of humanity’s struggles for peace, justice, and the common good.
Last week, I received in the mail from Tom Stang, brother of Dorothy Stang, a book called Lighting the Way Forward: Holy People For Our Times: Tapestries by John Nava. Nava is well known for creating the tapestries in the Cathedral in Los Angeles and also at USC and Princeton University. He was invited to create 52 tapestries at the University of San Diego for “Holy People For Our Times.”
Among the people celebrated on the West Wall are the following: The Dalai Lama, Sister Thea Bowman, Pope Francis, Saint Oscar Romero, Dorothy Day, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Saint Lorenzo Ruiz, Mahatma Gandhi, and Saint Julian of Norwich. Each is called a “beacon of Light, Faith, and Wisdom.”
Words cited from Oscar Romero include these: A church that does not provoke a crisis, preach a Gospel that does not unsettle, proclaim a word of God that does not get under anyone’s skin, or a word of God that does not touch the real sin of the society in which it is being proclaimed: What kind of Gospel is that?
On the East Wall, these people are among those celebrated: Abraham Joshua Heschel, Pierre Toussaint, Thomas Merton, Florence Nightingale, Tahirih, Edith Stein, C.S. Lewis, John Henry Newman, Catherine of Siena, Rumi, Flannery O’Connor, and Dorothy Mae Stang.
Heschel is cited for his statement that “prayer is not a substitute for action; rather it is a preparation for it,” and “racism is man’s gravest threat to man—the maximum of hatred for a minimum reason.” And “peace is not an absence of conflict, it is the ability to handle conflict by peaceful means.”
Merton is cited for this observation: “To be grateful is to recognize the Love of God in everything He has given us—and He has given us everything.”
Edith Stein is cited for saying, “Do not accept anything as the truth if it lacks love. Do not accept anything as love which lacks truth! One without the other becomes a destructive lie.”
Newman is remembered for this observation: “To live is to change, and to be perfect is to have changed often.” (I was so impressed by this wisdom that I inscribed it on my card for the day I was ordained a priest in 1967.)
Dorothy Stang, who died a martyr defending the rain forest and serving the peasants working the land in Brazil, is remembered for these words: “We must live simply so that others may simply live.” And, “the end of the forest is the end of our life.” Her commitment to the poor and to protecting the forest put her at odds with powerful landowners and loggers. They arranged and paid for her murder. She was also, I am honored to say, a student in our Institute of Creation Spirituality.
A season of Thanksgiving and remembering such heroes and sheroes as these helps build inner strength and steels oneself for diverse forms of resistance. Vive moral imagination!
May our diverse efforts at birthing goodness, healing, and justice flourish! Let us be thankful for these ancestors whose example calls us to resist in our own time and our own manner.
*See Lighting the Way Forward: Holy People For Our Times: Tapestries by John Nava.
Banner Image: John Nava’s tapestry for the East Wall depicts C.S. Lewis, John Henry Newman, Dorothy Mae Stang, Flannery O’Connor, Nguyen Van Thuan, and Rumi. Photo from Lighting the Way Forward: Holy People For Our Times: Tapestries by John Nava; reprinted with permission.
Queries for Contemplation
Who among these holy ones inspires you? What among the shared teachings challenges you and your struggle to resist and to plant seeds for light, truth, beauty, and justice?
Related Readings by Matthew Fox
Christian Mystics: 365 Readings & Meditations
Trump & The MAGA Movement as Anti-Christ
Sins of the Spirit, Blessings of the Flesh: Transforming Evil in Soul & Society, pp. 301-304
A Spirituality Named Compassion: Uniting Mystical Awareness with Social Justice
The Pope’s War: Why Ratzinger’s Crusade Has Imperiled the Church and How It Can Be Saved
Order of the Sacred Earth: An Intergenerational Vision of Love and Action by Matthew Fox, Skylar Wilson, Jen Listug.
“Warriors for Ecological and Economic Justice,” in Meister Eckhart: A Mystic-Warrior For Our Times
Occupy Spirituality: A Radical Vision For a New Generation by Adam Bucko and Matthew Fox
8 thoughts on “Our Holy Ancestors: Resistance Takes Many Forms, Part II”
We had similar tapestries here in Toledo, Ohio. Only 12, saints chosen by the parish.
I learned later they were removed by the new pastor over a few years, starting with the non Catholics as Gandhi. So sad
The Baha’i’ Faith women that I have met. My mother 70 years ago had a good friend who was in this faith and told us that she had never met a better friend. I recently went to one of their meetings and it was very welcoming The women were extremely kind and wanting to help. I regret that I don’t have time to meet with them as they respect and study all prophets like the Muslin’s studying the prophet, Jesus. No KINGS with these, but as I understood it: They are for equality for women and “others” through learning and spiritual support.
So many incredible quotes here that I will have to keep coming back to this one. The one that struck me most today is “To live is to change, and to be perfect is to have changed often.” Last night I had a vivid dream of seeing myself lying in bed, but my form had changed into that of a caterpillar/butterfly that was in the middle of metamorphosis. I was encased in a clear chrysalis. Change indeed.
Thank you for this inspirational and energizing meditation studded with so many unforgettable words wisdom like “We must live simply so that others may simply live”. . . We rightfully celebrate outstanding holy ones, but no sanctuary short of planet Earth itself would be wide enough to host a tapestry honoring all the “holy ones” who, one way or another, have “lighted the way forward,” be it with a candle or a lighthouse. Whoever did light the Sun remains, of course, at the top of the list. Glowworms should be counted too. I wonder if a “Tapestry of the Unknown Saint,” analogous to the Tomb of the Unknown soldier, has ever been woven. The Shroud of Turin comes to mind. “LAUDATO SI’, mi’ Signore” for all the anonymous holy men and women, animals, plants and minerals. . .
I recently moved to NM and was invited to become a part of the local ‘Singing Grannies’… I was surprised that so many of the recreated songs express grievance and ire towards the corrupt powers that be— which is understandable— however, such negativity does not help our cause in changing current narratives and/or policies…I think it really just keeps us stuck from making a difference. I have been presenting alternative lyrics about love, peace, brotherhood, solidarity — and see inklings that perhaps a shift towards ‘withness’ is actually opening up our hearts with compassion and empathy… AND help us rise above the current darkness.
It’s hard for me to pick only one saint, mystic, prophet, social justice worker, or artist among our ancestors who inspires me because there have been so many in our human Creation Spirituality Tradition up to the present challenging times. In general they remind me of the importance of maintaining our Faith, Trust, and Gratitude with-in the LIVING~LOVING~WISDOM~CREATIVE Beautiful, Joyful, COMPASSIONATE SPIRIT Always PRESENT in Our inner and outer unique human~Divine Lives with one another, with Sacred Mother Earth/Her living creatures/graceful abundance, and with All spiritual beings/dimensions of Our Eternally Evolving Creation and Cosmos in LOVING DIVERSE ONENESS….
Matt,
This DM is so inspiring…just want to thank you…touching connection with
my dear friend, Dot. I am so glad you continue to remember her among
other prophets so often. THANKS MUCH.
MARLENE
Is the book you received on John Nava’s tapestries available for purchase?