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Apostle of Peace: Essays in Honor of Daniel Berrigan
One of the most influential Catholic figures of the of the twentieth century, Jesuit priest and activist Daniel Berrigan has inspired countless people of faith and conscience to pursue the gospel vision of a world without war. In 1968 he made national headlines as one of the Catonsville Nine, who destroyed draft files to protest the Vietnam War. In the nearly thirty years since then he has continued to challenge the conscience of both his country and the church by his uncompromising manner of Christian witness.
In Apostle of Peace, reflective essays by forty fellow travelers celebrate Berrigan's life and gifts as a peacemaker, prophet, poet, priest, and keeper of the word. These essays by distinguished friends and colleagues from every walk of life are written in honor of Berrigan's seventy-fifth birthday.
Daniel Berrigan, apostle of peace: an introduction (of sorts) / John Dear, S.J
The prophet. Troublesome image, hopeful sign / Joan Chittister, O.S.B
An easy essay for a post-modern Ezekiel (in honor of Daniel Berrigan on his 75th birthday) / Richard Rohr, O.F.M
Prophet and pastor / Richard Deats
Courage in abundance / Bishop Thomas Gumbleton
Dan the messenger / Robert Coles
One of the great truth-tellers / Rosemary Radford Ruether
The resister. Peacemaking is hard / Jim Douglass
We are filled with hope: beating swords into plowshares with Daniel / Molly Rush
The heart's beat, the childrenborn, the risen bread / Anne Montgomery, R.S.C.J
Peace pilgrim to Vietnam / Howard Zinn
Humanity and humor / Earl Crow
How our Daniel came to face the lions / Ramsey Clark
The keeper of the world. Dan Berrigan, theologian / Walter Wink
The way the book invites / Ched Myers
Taking the book with life and death seriousness / Bill Wylie-Kellermann
The angel of recidivism / Megan McKenna
The poet. Walking with Father Dan / Thich Nhat Hanh
Living what you believe / Denise Levertov
A poet for difficult times / Elizabeth Bartelme
Unka's catfish pizza, cappuccino, and poetry / Frida Berrigan
An easy essay from a Catholic worker / Carmen Trotta
The peacemaker. A great lake of beer / Jim Forest
The world will be saved by beauty / Mary Evelyn Jegen
Among the finest treasure in the church / Tom Fox
Thank you for converting me / Bishop Walter Sullivan
A rebel for peace / Jean Vanier
The jesuit. Life in community with Dan / Don Moore, S.J
Daniel and the Joseph coat / William Hart McNichols, S.J
A Christ figure / Richard McSorley, S.J
A letter from your brother in El Salvador / Jon Sobrino, S.J
Crossing the line / Luis Calero, S.J
Servants of Christ's mission in a world of war / Peter-Hans Kolvenbach, S.J
The writer. A social critic with humor and mystery / Michael True
The teacher. Teacher of peace / Colman McCarthy
Seeking wisdom by living the truth / Robert Ludwig
The retreat master. Sowing seeds of peace for future generations / Robert Raines
The mentor. A life both comforting and challenging / Shelley Douglass
Inspiration and invitation / Joyce Hollyday
A letter from prison / Frank Cordaro
The friend. Steadfast with a smile / Jim Wallis
Merton and Berrigan: an extraordinary friendship, two extraordinary spirits / Mary Luke Tobin, S.L
Keeping me in the church / Martin Sheen
A letter from Block Island / Mary Donnelly
Once and for all / Joseph Roccasalvo
The brother. Dan my brother / Jerry Berrigan
With a word to the weary / Elizabeth McAlister
A testimony to my brother / Philip Berrigan
The last word. Less than / Daniel Berrigan
In Apostle of Peace, reflective essays by forty fellow travelers celebrate Berrigan's life and gifts as a peacemaker, prophet, poet, priest, and keeper of the word. These essays by distinguished friends and colleagues from every walk of life are written in honor of Berrigan's seventy-fifth birthday.
Daniel Berrigan, apostle of peace: an introduction (of sorts) / John Dear, S.J
The prophet. Troublesome image, hopeful sign / Joan Chittister, O.S.B
An easy essay for a post-modern Ezekiel (in honor of Daniel Berrigan on his 75th birthday) / Richard Rohr, O.F.M
Prophet and pastor / Richard Deats
Courage in abundance / Bishop Thomas Gumbleton
Dan the messenger / Robert Coles
One of the great truth-tellers / Rosemary Radford Ruether
The resister. Peacemaking is hard / Jim Douglass
We are filled with hope: beating swords into plowshares with Daniel / Molly Rush
The heart's beat, the childrenborn, the risen bread / Anne Montgomery, R.S.C.J
Peace pilgrim to Vietnam / Howard Zinn
Humanity and humor / Earl Crow
How our Daniel came to face the lions / Ramsey Clark
The keeper of the world. Dan Berrigan, theologian / Walter Wink
The way the book invites / Ched Myers
Taking the book with life and death seriousness / Bill Wylie-Kellermann
The angel of recidivism / Megan McKenna
The poet. Walking with Father Dan / Thich Nhat Hanh
Living what you believe / Denise Levertov
A poet for difficult times / Elizabeth Bartelme
Unka's catfish pizza, cappuccino, and poetry / Frida Berrigan
An easy essay from a Catholic worker / Carmen Trotta
The peacemaker. A great lake of beer / Jim Forest
The world will be saved by beauty / Mary Evelyn Jegen
Among the finest treasure in the church / Tom Fox
Thank you for converting me / Bishop Walter Sullivan
A rebel for peace / Jean Vanier
The jesuit. Life in community with Dan / Don Moore, S.J
Daniel and the Joseph coat / William Hart McNichols, S.J
A Christ figure / Richard McSorley, S.J
A letter from your brother in El Salvador / Jon Sobrino, S.J
Crossing the line / Luis Calero, S.J
Servants of Christ's mission in a world of war / Peter-Hans Kolvenbach, S.J
The writer. A social critic with humor and mystery / Michael True
The teacher. Teacher of peace / Colman McCarthy
Seeking wisdom by living the truth / Robert Ludwig
The retreat master. Sowing seeds of peace for future generations / Robert Raines
The mentor. A life both comforting and challenging / Shelley Douglass
Inspiration and invitation / Joyce Hollyday
A letter from prison / Frank Cordaro
The friend. Steadfast with a smile / Jim Wallis
Merton and Berrigan: an extraordinary friendship, two extraordinary spirits / Mary Luke Tobin, S.L
Keeping me in the church / Martin Sheen
A letter from Block Island / Mary Donnelly
Once and for all / Joseph Roccasalvo
The brother. Dan my brother / Jerry Berrigan
With a word to the weary / Elizabeth McAlister
A testimony to my brother / Philip Berrigan
The last word. Less than / Daniel Berrigan
245 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1996
11 people want to read
About the author
John Dear
56 books30 followersFather John Dear (The Society of Jesus) is an internationally known voice for peace and nonviolence. A Jesuit priest, pastor, peacemaker, organizer, lecturer, and retreat leader, he is the author/editor of 30 books, including his autobiography, “A Persistent Peace.” In 2008, John was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
From 1998 until December 2000, he served as the executive director of the Fellowship of Reconciliation, the largest interfaith peace organization in the United States.
After the September 11th, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center, John served as a Red Cross Chaplain, and became one of the coordinators of the chaplain program at the Family Assistance Center. He worked with some 1,500 family members who lost loved ones, as well as hundreds of firefighters and police officers, while at the same time, he spoke out against the U.S. bombing of Afghanistan.
From 2002-2004, he served as pastor of several parishes in northeastern New Mexico. He co-founded Pax Christi New Mexico and works on a nonviolent campaign to disarm Los Alamos. These days, he lectures to tens of thousands of people each year in churches and schools across the country and the world. He also writes a weekly column for the “National Catholic Reporter” at www.ncrcafe.org.
A longtime practitioner and teacher of nonviolence, John has written hundreds of articles and given thousands of talks on nonviolence. John has two masters degrees in theology from the Graduate Theological Union in California.
* BIO EXCERPT FROM http://www.johndear.org/
From 1998 until December 2000, he served as the executive director of the Fellowship of Reconciliation, the largest interfaith peace organization in the United States.
After the September 11th, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center, John served as a Red Cross Chaplain, and became one of the coordinators of the chaplain program at the Family Assistance Center. He worked with some 1,500 family members who lost loved ones, as well as hundreds of firefighters and police officers, while at the same time, he spoke out against the U.S. bombing of Afghanistan.
From 2002-2004, he served as pastor of several parishes in northeastern New Mexico. He co-founded Pax Christi New Mexico and works on a nonviolent campaign to disarm Los Alamos. These days, he lectures to tens of thousands of people each year in churches and schools across the country and the world. He also writes a weekly column for the “National Catholic Reporter” at www.ncrcafe.org.
A longtime practitioner and teacher of nonviolence, John has written hundreds of articles and given thousands of talks on nonviolence. John has two masters degrees in theology from the Graduate Theological Union in California.
* BIO EXCERPT FROM http://www.johndear.org/
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
May 14, 2017
1.
Some of Daniel Berrigan’s Whitmanian multitudes: Brother, uncle, jailbird, correspondent, chef, Jesuit, retreat master, playwright poet, peacemaker, mentor, reader, teacher, prophet, son, friend, logophile.
2
In our age they they talk about the importance of presenting Christianity simply, not elaborately and grandiloquently. And about this subject they write books, it becomes a science, perhaps one may even make a living of it or become a professor. But they forget or ignore the fact that the truly simple way of presenting Christianity is—to do it. — Soren Kierkegaard
3.
It is not easy for the rich to allow themselves to be touched by the poor, to enter into communion with them, to let themselves be stripped of luxury and comfort. … To love is to reveal the hidden beauty in the hearts of all people, to trust them and to call them forth to greater trust. To love is a way of looking, of touching, of listening to all: taking time with them, especially with those who are broken, depressed, and insecure, revealing to them their importance.—Jean Vanier
And after each interview, the mother would invariably walk to the far end of the table, to a heap of photo albums laid there. Would take one of them in hand, gravely turn page after page, these images out of the national abattoir, the tortured, raped, amputated. The photos that stood horrid surrogate for the young men, absent from streets and homes and churches and factories. The disappeared generation. I could scarcely bear to look at the faces that dared look at such images, and not be turned to stone. How much can one bear? I did not know. But I sensed that the measure of what could be borne would be revealed neither by psychiatrist nor politician nor bishop. I must go in humility to these unknown, despised lives, upon whom there rested the preferential option of God. —Daniel Berrigan, on being in El Salvador
4.
Don’t die, [Berrigan] would say. Come along, we need you. Don’t be a conscious integer in the empire’s spiritual body count. He made it seem as if resurrection and discipleship were synonyms. —Bill Wylie-Kellerman
No sophistic philosophying. No theological profundities. Rather, a direct and categorical imperative: we are not allowed to do harm to others. We are, as Tolstoy wrote, confronted with alternative ways of living: the Law of Love or the Law of Violence. Christians are to live by the Law of Love. — Earl Crow
No rhetoric. Simple talk, Gospel rooted talk. No notes. Compelling in honesty. He did not tell others what to do, only how and why he lived as he did. —Thomas Fox
No tweed jacket, no tie. Usually blue jeans and collarless shirts picked up at second-hand shops. No briefcase brimming with bibliography, no ponderous lecture, no sharp-edged questions, no ready critique snapping form his academic ego. No willingness to pay homage to academic convention. Just a profound respect for truth—and a passion to live it. With courage and humor, with humility and presence, with respect and love. —Robert Ludwig
His encouragement to retreatants is not to espouse his vocation, but to discover and live one’s own. His teaching and presence are not combative or preachy, but suggestive, invitational, evocative. He is a hearer and doer of the word in our midst, a powerful impetus to go and do likewise. — Robert Raines
5.
Judge: Father Berrigan, regardless of the outcome of these hearings, will you promise the court that you will refrain from such acts in the future?”
Berrigan: ”Your honor, it seems to me that you are asking the wrong question.”
Judge: ”Okay, Father Berrigan, what do you think is the proper question?"
Berrigan: ”Well, your honor, it appears to me that you should ask President Bush if he’ll stop making missiles; and if he’ll stop making them, then I’ll stop banging on them and you and I can go fishing.”
Sources
John Dear, ed., Apostle of Peace: Essays in Honor of Daniel Berrigan, Orbis Books, 1996.
Salvador passage: Daniel Berrigan, Steadfastness of The Saints: A Journal of Peace and War in Central and North America
Some of Daniel Berrigan’s Whitmanian multitudes: Brother, uncle, jailbird, correspondent, chef, Jesuit, retreat master, playwright poet, peacemaker, mentor, reader, teacher, prophet, son, friend, logophile.
2
In our age they they talk about the importance of presenting Christianity simply, not elaborately and grandiloquently. And about this subject they write books, it becomes a science, perhaps one may even make a living of it or become a professor. But they forget or ignore the fact that the truly simple way of presenting Christianity is—to do it. — Soren Kierkegaard
3.
It is not easy for the rich to allow themselves to be touched by the poor, to enter into communion with them, to let themselves be stripped of luxury and comfort. … To love is to reveal the hidden beauty in the hearts of all people, to trust them and to call them forth to greater trust. To love is a way of looking, of touching, of listening to all: taking time with them, especially with those who are broken, depressed, and insecure, revealing to them their importance.—Jean Vanier
And after each interview, the mother would invariably walk to the far end of the table, to a heap of photo albums laid there. Would take one of them in hand, gravely turn page after page, these images out of the national abattoir, the tortured, raped, amputated. The photos that stood horrid surrogate for the young men, absent from streets and homes and churches and factories. The disappeared generation. I could scarcely bear to look at the faces that dared look at such images, and not be turned to stone. How much can one bear? I did not know. But I sensed that the measure of what could be borne would be revealed neither by psychiatrist nor politician nor bishop. I must go in humility to these unknown, despised lives, upon whom there rested the preferential option of God. —Daniel Berrigan, on being in El Salvador
4.
Don’t die, [Berrigan] would say. Come along, we need you. Don’t be a conscious integer in the empire’s spiritual body count. He made it seem as if resurrection and discipleship were synonyms. —Bill Wylie-Kellerman
No sophistic philosophying. No theological profundities. Rather, a direct and categorical imperative: we are not allowed to do harm to others. We are, as Tolstoy wrote, confronted with alternative ways of living: the Law of Love or the Law of Violence. Christians are to live by the Law of Love. — Earl Crow
No rhetoric. Simple talk, Gospel rooted talk. No notes. Compelling in honesty. He did not tell others what to do, only how and why he lived as he did. —Thomas Fox
No tweed jacket, no tie. Usually blue jeans and collarless shirts picked up at second-hand shops. No briefcase brimming with bibliography, no ponderous lecture, no sharp-edged questions, no ready critique snapping form his academic ego. No willingness to pay homage to academic convention. Just a profound respect for truth—and a passion to live it. With courage and humor, with humility and presence, with respect and love. —Robert Ludwig
His encouragement to retreatants is not to espouse his vocation, but to discover and live one’s own. His teaching and presence are not combative or preachy, but suggestive, invitational, evocative. He is a hearer and doer of the word in our midst, a powerful impetus to go and do likewise. — Robert Raines
5.
Judge: Father Berrigan, regardless of the outcome of these hearings, will you promise the court that you will refrain from such acts in the future?”
Berrigan: ”Your honor, it seems to me that you are asking the wrong question.”
Judge: ”Okay, Father Berrigan, what do you think is the proper question?"
Berrigan: ”Well, your honor, it appears to me that you should ask President Bush if he’ll stop making missiles; and if he’ll stop making them, then I’ll stop banging on them and you and I can go fishing.”
Sources
John Dear, ed., Apostle of Peace: Essays in Honor of Daniel Berrigan, Orbis Books, 1996.
Salvador passage: Daniel Berrigan, Steadfastness of The Saints: A Journal of Peace and War in Central and North America
October 16, 2023
Incredibly insightful. For all Christians a book to read on how we should treat everyone.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews