Two great Proponents of Nonviolence

This week we celebrate two significant figures in the movement toward peace and respect for the dignity of human life.The month of January offers us several reminders which encourage us to live a more concentrated, spirit-filled life. The celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King's birthday on January 15 and the feast of St. Francis de Sales on January 24, as well as the March for Life on January 22, offer us reminders about significant moments in the life of our church and country which are directed toward preserving and strengthening human life.

Dr. Martin Luther King's "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" is a clarion call to "act justly, to love tenderly and to walk humbly with our God. This letter contains poignant reminders of the basic issues of human life, issues often reflected in the teachings of Francis de Sales.Dr. King writes: " I had hoped that the white moderate would understand that the present tension in the south is a necessary phase of the transition from an obnoxious negative peace, in which the Negro passively accepted his unjust plight, to a substantive and positive peace in which all men will respect the dignity and worth of human personality."

The spirituality of Francis de Sales has a deep appreciation for the innate dignity of the human person who is created in the image of God. From this basic assumption flows the essence of this spirituality: to "Live Jesus" in a spirit of optimism. Francis underlines the thought that gentle nonviolence is a light that illumines life, it is the way of being a person and dealing with persons which Jesus lived and taught. It is the only way we can make sense out of the challenge to love our enemies and to do good to those who hate us.

Let us strive always to "Live Jesus!"