Rx: Healing Violence in Our World

My dear friends,

Most of us would like to see more peace and less violence in our world. Here I offer suggestions of things we can do that I’m convinced will make a difference. Note that I use the word “violence” in a broad sense that can apply to our actions, words, and thoughts (conscious and subconscious).

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For us to heal the violence in our world, we must first heal ourselves, not others. Seeds of violence are buried in the fears and anger that lurk, often disguised, behind our own everyday thoughts, words, judgments, attitudes, and body language. Our psyches mask our personal potential for violence so cleverly that it is hard for us to recognize it. But becoming aware of this potential is the first step toward healing the violence that surrounds us.

The fact is, our efforts to fix others are doomed to fail, whether we are trying to fix criminals, terrorists, white supremacists, political opponents, or simply those whom we judge or fear. At best, our efforts can trigger hurt and resentment; at worst, they may foment more anger and violence as reactions on both sides escalate.

Recently, I attended a retreat entitled “How Contemplation Can Heal Our Violent World.” I was stirred to explore this topic further when the retreat leader, Bishop Eugene Sutton, Episcopal Bishop of  Baltimore, shared the following words of Thomas Merton:

“Instead of hating people you think are war makers, hate the appetites and disorder in your own soul, which are the causes of war. If you love peace, then hate injustice, hate tyranny, hate greed—but hate these things in yourself, not in another.”

Sutton advocated Centering Prayer, a kind of meditative prayer that opens our hearts and minds to allow closeness or oneness with God. Over time we become more aware of our innermost judgments, hate, or even violence—our sinful tendencies that need healing.

It is the sacred silence of contemplative prayer that allows this to happen.

We cannot will it to happen.

But we can intentionally sit in our chair to pray and, in so doing, create the conditions so our Divine Therapist can draw near. Father Thomas Keating writes about Divine Therapy in Intimacy with God.

My twelve-year experience with Centering Prayer has been transformational for me. It has helped me to trust God and to subject my will to the will of God—as best I can. In the process I have become much more aware of my failings and God’s healing  presence. I am so grateful to have found this path to healing, for me and the world.

Let us all pray for the grace of a non-violent heart, as the Sisters of Providence so beautifully exemplify in their Litany of Nonviolence, which I have excerpted here:

…Deliver us from the violence of superiority and disdain…

Deliver us from the violence of greed and privilege…

Deliver us from the silence that gives consent to abuse, war and evil…

Deliver us from the violence of irreverence, exploitation and control…

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.

SUGGESTIONS:

1. Pray the full version of the Litany of Nonviolence.

2.  Richard Rohr writes about nonviolence: “For the first time, on a broad basis, future reformations can come from the inside out and from the bottom up, in a positive, nonviolent way.”

  3. Click here to learn more about Centering Prayer, or check out my 7-minute video about Centering Prayer and God-Centered Mindfulness, two practices that changed my life. Try this prayer practice—even if for just a few minutes.

4. Fr. Greg Boyle of Homeboy Industries movingly writes about his homies, the LA gang members and shows how love heals the wounds they carry from rough childhoods—and reduces future violence. Learn how Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) fit into this story.

Love and prayers,

Donna

EXTRAS

Here is some really cool news about my book. A medical journal called Family Medicine wrote a review of Pilgrimage: A Doctor’s Healing Journey. You will have to read the review to understand how they meaningfully compared my message to Kentucky Fried Chicken!

Dr. Donna Chacko promotes health of body, mind, and spirit through her website (serenityandhealth.com), her blog, her podcast/vlog series Pop-Up Conversations on Health of Mind, Body, and Spirit, and programs at her church. She is the author of Pilgrimage: A Doctor’s Healing Journey (Luminare Press, 2021), a recent best-seller on Amazon, 2022 Illumination Awards Gold Medal Winner, 2022 Reader Views Literary Award Gold Medal Winner, and 2022 Catholic Media Association First Place Awards.