John Dear

In 1996, Jesuit activist John Dear spent several weeks on silent retreat in Thomas Merton's hermitage on the grounds of the Abbey of Gethsemani near Louisville, Kentucky. His journal from those days of silence and solitude invites us into Merton's own spirit of peace. The Sound of Listening takes us into both the journey of John Dear and Thomas Merton, and our own journey to peace and new life. As we enter these days of peace, we pray with John Dear the peace prayer of St. Francis and join our voice to his Updated Version of the Apostles' Creed. Together, we emerge ready for the struggle for justice, renewed for the journey of nonviolence, and enlightened to speak the good news of peace to a wartorn world.

Thirty-two full color icons reveal the face of Christ through Saints and Witnesses. A stunning book with text by John Dear and beautiful art by William Hart McNichols. Icons include: Mary, John the Baptist, Ignatius Loyola, Mary Dyer, Dorothy Day, Mary Magdalene, Therese of Lisieux, and many others.

The God of peace is never glorified by human violence. Thomas Merton 'The God of Peace', John Dear's classic theology of nonviolence, broke new ground when it was first published as a breakthrough toward a new understanding of scripture, theology, social concerns and churches issues--from the perspective of Gospel nonviolence, in the tradition of Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Dorothy Day. This ground-breaking study begins not just with the culture of violence, but the nonviolence of God, and the revolutionary nonviolence of Jesus. From the start, John Dear explores traditional areas of theology, such as Christology, Trinitarian Theology, anthropology, sin, redemption, theodicy, salvation, ecclesiology, eschatology, spirituality, liturgy, Catholic social teaching, the just war theory, feminism, liberation theology and the consistent ethic of life. This text will help university and theology students pursuing the theology and spirituality of nonviolence, as well as ordinary Christians and activists interested in the crucial connection between war and violence, and God and nonviolence.

"To take care of each other should be our primary concern in this 21st century and Father Dear is steady on this course."--"Thich Nhat Hanh" For John Dear, a Jesuit priest and respected leader of the ecumenical peace movement, the spiritual life is a combination of contemplation and action, of maintaining inner peace and projecting that peace into the greater world. It is the spirituality exemplified by the lives of Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr., Mother Teresa, the Dalai Lama, and others throughout history who remained true to the highest ideals while addressing the most difficult problems and conflicts of the real world. As a tireless advocate for social justice and human rights, Dear has followed that path in his own life, and in Living Peace he describes his journey. Breaking down the life of peace into three parts an inner journey, a public journey, and the journey of all humanity he shares the spiritual practices that have sustained him and teaches readers how to integrate these practices into their own lives. "From the Hardcover edition."

An illuminating study of the Gospels and the teachings of Jesus Christ explores the ways in which the questions that Jesus asks of his followers can lead to a deeper understanding of the meaning of life and our relationship with God, presenting a series of questions organized according to such themes as Invitation, Identity, Love, Healing, and Truth. Original. 12,500 first printing.

Jesus the Rebel explores the radical life and teaching of Jesus of Nazareth and shows how his witness speaks directly to our contemporary world of violence, war, poverty, and nuclear weaponry. As John Dear ponders Jesus’ call to discipleship, he shares his own journey of Gospel peacemaking. In jails, soup kitchens, shelters, and war zones, Jesus the bearer of God’s Peace and Justice is reborn and invites us to be transformed in our homes, workplaces, churches, communities, and hearts.

This journal, taken when John Dear was in jail for eight months after a disarmament action, allows you to enter into the world of prisoners and a committed peacemaker.