This first quote was spoken by someone most of us don't know: Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit. She was the first woman to become President of the United Nations General Assembly and held many important political positions in India. She also was the sister of Jawaharlal Nehru and the aunt of Indira Gandhi (of whom she was critical.)
"Peace hath higher tests of manhood than battle ever knew."
This was said by John Greenleaf Whittier, an American Quaker poet and forceful advocate of the abolition of slavery in the United States. The elementary school to which Martha and I went was named after him, "Whittier School."
This was said by John Greenleaf Whittier, an American Quaker poet and forceful advocate of the abolition of slavery in the United States. The elementary school to which Martha and I went was named after him, "Whittier School."
"If you want peace, work for justice."
Pope Paul VI reigned from 1963 to 1978, the time of my growing up within the Catholic Church. He convened the Second Vatican Council and presided over the majority of its sessions and oversaw many of its decrees. One of the things decided during this time was to switch Catholic mass from Latin to the language of the attendants. I felt this change directly, as I began to understand (in English) the mass that had previously been just a bunch of mumbo jumbo.
"Peace in not a relationship of nations. It is a condition of mind brought about by a serenity of soul. Peace is not merely an absence of war, it is also a state of mind. Lasting peace can come only to peaceful people."
Jawaharlal Nehru, the first prime minister of independent India and a pivotal figure in the Indian independence movement, was very strongly attracted to Mahatma Gandhi's philosophy and leadership. (Mohandas Gandhi, my first mentor in the philosophy of peaceful living and nonviolence, will have a post all to himself in the future.) Indira Gandhi was his daughter, Rajiv Gandhi his grandson.
"If you want to make peace with your enemy, you have to work with your enemy. Then he becomes your partner."
Nelson Mandela was the first democratically-elected president of South Africa. It was the ideas of Gandhi that inspired his anti-Apartheid activist activities which landed him in jail for nearly three decades. In 1993 he won the Nobel Peace Prize.
"While you are proclaiming peace with your lips, be careful to have it even more fully in your heart."
St. Francis of Assisi is known as the patron saint of animals, birds and the environment. He is also credited with the famous prayer, "Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace......" but some say this can not be proven.
2 comments:
How fortunate and proud I am to have Ingrid as my wife; she is smart, beautiful, and getting wiser all the time. Then, why is it that she is so mean to me, bossing me around with my dressing, eating, walking, sitting, breathing,...?
No offense, Daddy, but you do need the occasional helpful hint when getting dressed! Sitting and breathing you can do all on your own, though!!
-Shirin
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