If we have listening ears,
God speaks to us in our own
language, whatever that language may be.
M.K. Gandhi, Mahatma, Vol. 7, p.110
I often have been accused of not listening. I justifiably can be accused of talking too much and interrupting person, faults I work on. But I do listen and listen deeply, sometimes too deeply for my own good. Listening is hard and when persons make demeaning statements or misrepresent views it is hard to listen. Perhaps this explains, but does not justify, my interruption of people at times.
On both issues that spark my passion, Marquette Teaching War No More and the Catholic church giving back to neighborhoods in North Central Milwaukee the money it made from closing and selling churches, Cry of the Poor Petition, attempts are made to marginalize me and thus ignore the messages. Sadly I play into this game and allow myself to be the issue over the message. I am trying to change and just tonight refused to attend a meeting about my bad behavior when the message to the Catholic Church is being ignored. I do not justify any bad behavior on my part, although at times, like the banning letter at Marquette there is no evidence for what the vice president claims is “disruptive behavior” on the grounds of Marquette University.
Marquette refusing me access to the library was all I had to loose of value. If I can get kicked out of the Church that is the steward for the 1.1 million dollar that will be no great lost since I prefer another Catholic church anyway. If, the “powers to be” take away my ability to make St. Vincent De Paul home visits that will hurt. This home visits bestowed blessing and grace, which God gives the poor on me.
Deep listening can be very painful since all the violence of words and actions we are exposed to each day grind at the soul. Deep listening with an historical perspective is hard, since one can see the same old mistakes over and over again.
An official study says the 10 year war in Iraq cost us 2.2 trillion dollars and hundreds of thousands of life. Another unofficial report came out today saying that the shows M-16 spy agency of England and CIA in the United States know before the war that Iraq had no weapons of mass destruction (WMD) which was given as the reason for the war. If both these reports are correct someone should be held accountable for “crimes against humanity”.. A number of people heard, deeply listened, to the drum beats of war before the Iraq war. After the war started, the opposition gradually decreased and the war went out with a whimper. However, if you deeply listen you can still hear the cries of the people of Iraq and feel the wounds of our veterans of this “preemptive war” that preempted nothing.
Comments
(:commentboxchrono:)