(Unsplash/Alice Donovan Rouse)
by John Dear
What does it really mean to be a peacemaker? To work for justice? To get into "good trouble" for the sake of love? How do we form a happy, holy world?
That's what National Catholic Reporter columnist and Benedictine Sr. Joan Chittister asks in the final part of my three-part conversation on "The Nonviolent Jesus Podcast," in which we explore the last Beatitudes:
- Blessed are the peacemakers — how do we become fearless, nonviolent makers of peace in a world addicted to war?
- Blessed are those persecuted for justice – what does it mean to stand for truth, even when it costs us everything, to "get in trouble for justice and peace"?
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Sister Joan challenges us to build a "Beatitudes Movement" that brings people together in small communities of action, resistance and deep faith and reimagine a "new church of the Beatitudes" — a community of justice-seekers, peacemakers, healers and changemakers.
"Find and build your own happiness group," Sister Joan advises. "The Beatitudes aren't just lessons — they tell us how to be a human being."
