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Maryknoll Speakers Series: “Loving Our Enemies” In A Violent World

In a world filled with conflict and hatred, the ability to love one’s enemies often seems irrational if not impossible. However, embracing enemies is basic to Christianity. It is the message Jesus taught through direct instruction, through parables and by example.

Internationally renowned educator, peace activist, lay theologian and spiritual writer Jim Forest will speak about "Loving Our Enemies" on Sunday, April 19, at 2:30 p.m. as part of the spring Maryknoll Speakers Series.

Internationally renowned educator, peace activist, lay theologian and spiritual writer Jim Forest will speak about "Loving Our Enemies" on Sunday, April 19, at 2:30 p.m. as part of the spring Maryknoll Speakers Series.

Photo Credit: Contributed

Internationally renowned educator, peace activist, lay theologian and spiritual writer Jim Forest will speak about "Loving Our Enemies" on Sunday, April 19, at 2:30 p.m. as part of the spring Maryknoll Speakers Series. Mr. Forest’s presentation will be held at the Maryknoll Mission Center at 55 Ryder Road in Ossining. Presented by the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers, the series is free and open to the public.

Reservations are requested and can be made by email at MaryknollSpeakersSeries@maryknoll.org, or by calling 914-941-7636 extension 2445. Additional information and directions can be found at www.maryknollsociety.org.

Drawing from scripture, the lives of the saints, modern history and personal stories, Mr. Forest offers "nine disciplines of active love" that he believes can be adopted by every person. These disciplines include praying for enemies, turning the other cheek, forgiveness and recognizing Jesus in others. According to Father James Martin, S.J., author and culture editor of the Jesuit magazine America, Mr. Forest shows that “forgiveness liberates not only the one forgiven but the one who forgives.”

Mr. Forest’s long career has included working relationships with Dorothy Day and the Catholic Worker, with Trappist monk Thomas Merton and with Buddhist leader Thich Nhat Hanh. Mr. Forest’s books have included several published by Orbis Books, the publishing division of the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers. These books include All is Grace: A Biography of Dorothy Day, Living with Wisdom: A Life of Thomas Merton, Praying with Icons and Loving Our Enemies. Follow Orbis Books on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/orbisbooks.

Mr. Forest and his wife, Nancy, live and work in Alkmaar, the Netherlands, where he serves as the international secretary of the Orthodox Peace Fellowship.

Upcoming presentations in the 2015 Maryknoll Speakers Series are:

  • Sunday, May 17, Margaret A. Farley, Gilbert L. Stark Professor Emerita of Christian ethics, Yale University Divinity School, New Haven, Connecticut. Topic: “Changing the Questions (Forgiveness).” 
  • Sunday, October 4, Sister Elizabeth A. Johnson, distinguished professor of theology, Fordham University, New York. Topic: “Abounding in Kindness.”
  • Sunday, October 25, Michael Higgins, vice president, Catholic Mission and Identity, Sacred Heart University, Fairfield, Connecticut. Topic: “Thomas Merton” in celebration of the Merton Centenary.

On the same day that Maryknoll welcomes Mr. Forest, the Maryknoll Museum of Living Mission and the Maryknoll Gift Shop will be open to the public 1-5 p.m. A new temporary exhibit in the museum features the path to canonization for four Maryknoll priests. Two of the priests are the Maryknoll co-founders, Bishop James A. Walsh and Father Thomas F. Price. The other two priests are New Yorkers, Bishop Francis X. Ford from Brooklyn and Maryknoll’s first seminarian, and Staten Island’s Father Vincent R. Capodanno, a recipient of the Medal of Honor who was killed while serving as a military chaplain in Vietnam.

The Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers follow Jesus in serving the poor and others in need in 26 countries that include the U.S. All Catholics are called to mission through baptism and confirmation, and Maryknoll’s mission education outreach in parishes and schools throughout the country engages U.S. Catholics in mission through vocations, prayer, donations and as volunteers. Maryknoll missioners share God’s love and the Gospel in combating poverty, providing healthcare, building communities and promoting human rights. For more information, visit the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers at http://maryknollsociety.org.

Follow the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers on Twitter at http://twitter.com/MaryknollNews and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/maryknollsociety.

This article is part of a paid Content Partnership with the advertiser, Maryknoll Fathers & Brothers. Daily Voice has no involvement in the writing of the article and the statements and opinions contained in it are solely those of the advertiser.

To learn more about Content Partnerships, click here.

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