Bending the Arc

Last month, the Sisters of Providence Leadership team submitted a letter to the editor of their local paper. The letter was titled, "Called to Embrace Nonviolence."

They invite others to spend some time with the message and to share it among their networks. The Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes fully supports and shares the sentiments and hopes of the Sisters of Providence. They encourage others to circulate the letter and use the Litany of Nonviolence provided.

The letter reads as follows:

Countless acts of violence are taking the lives of children, family members, friends, political leaders and others in this country and in the world.

Each of us has the capacity to decrease or increase the violence by our thoughts, words and actions.  Every time we attempt to divide persons or groups over and against others rather than working for the common good, we sow seeds of violence. 

Today, attending public events such as celebrations, parades, rallies, or even simply going to school can cause some concern. Indeed, violence in words and deeds is all around us. And yet goodness is also all around us.

Words matter.  Every time we use derogatory words to label and dehumanize or deprive other persons of opportunities we choose for ourselves, we increase the possibility for violence exponentially. It doesn’t matter if the words are spoken publicly or in circles where one feels safe to express such cruel thoughts. The damage is done. The world is made less safe for everyone. 

Let’s all choose to work at being able to disagree with another’s ideas while at the same time agreeing on our common humanity and thus treating all persons with dignity and respect.

The Sisters of Providence Community’s Litany of Nonviolence can help us discover where violence lives within us. It lights a path towards embracing nonviolence. We invite you to pray this litany with us as together we ‘beg the grace of a non-violent heart.’ May it be so.

Litany of Nonviolence:

Provident God, aware of our own brokenness, we ask for the gift of courage to identify how and where we are in need of conversion in order to live in solidarity with Earth and all creation.

Deliver us from the violence of superiority and disdain.
Grant us the desire, and the humility, to listen with special care to those
whose experiences and attitudes are different from our own.

Deliver us from the violence of greed and privilege.
Grant us the desire, and the will, to live simply
so others may have their just share of Earth’s resources.

Deliver us from the silence that gives consent to abuse, war and evil.
Grant us the desire, and the courage,
to risk speaking and acting for the common good.

Deliver us from the violence of irreverence, exploitation and control.
Grant us the desire, and the strength, to act responsibly within the cycle of creation.

God of love, mercy and justice, acknowledging our complicity
in those attitudes, action and words which perpetuate violence,
we beg the grace of a non-violent heart.

Amen.