David Hartsough knows how to get in the way. He has used his body to block Navy ships headed for Vietnam and trains loaded with munitions on their way to El Salvador and Nicaragua. He has crossed borders to meet “the enemy” in East Berlin, Castro’s Cuba, and present-day Iran. He has marched with mothers confronting a violent regime in Guatemala and stood with refugees threatened by death squads in the Philippines.Waging Peace is a testament to the difference one person can...

In a violent world, and amid the reality of catastrophic climate change, it's easy to feel overwhelmed. Where can we turn to find the courage and inspiration, we need to stay hopeful and to keep working for peace? International peace activist Fr. John Dear has always found support and comfort in the psalms. In this profound and deeply reflective book he helps us see that "if we read the psalms from Jesus' vision of nonviolence, we will find new strength to turn away from hate and anger tow...

In the fall of 1964, Trappist monk Thomas Merton prepared to host an unprecedented gathering of peace activists. "About all we have is a great need for roots," he observed, "but to know this is already something." His remark anticipated their agenda--a search for spiritual roots to nurture sound motives for "protest." This event's originality lay in the varied religious commitments present. Convened in an era of well-kept faith boundaries, members of Catholic (lay and clergy), mainline Pro...

"The trouble with our state," Daniel Berrigan writes in his great poem, "was not civil disobedience, which in any case was hesitant and rare. . . . The trouble with our state--our state of soul, our state of siege, was civil obedience." This poem, like the many others gathered here together by Daniel Berrigan's friend and editor, Rev. John Dear, continues his famous critique of the American war machine and summons readers to carry on his campaign of nonviolence for the abolition of war, vi...

With a foreword by Nobel Winner Mairead Corrigan MaguireThe Beatitudes are “the hope and prayer and vision of Jesus…the blueprint for Christian discipleship, the job description of every Christian,” says John Dear. These stirring meditations are more than mere reflections. They are a call to action, a summons to take up the Beatitudes as a daily handbook for life, written by an internationally known voice for peace and nonviolence. Set against vivid descriptions of peace efforts in...

"Firm footing for a life of holy trouble." - Shane ClaiborneThe Christian faith has a rich tradition of civil disobedience.Old Testament stories of noncooperation with evil, or prophets standing up to Kings at great cost. Jesus, the nonviolent revolutionary, peacemaker, risk-taker. The early Christian communities, repeatedly imprisoned for speaking truth to power-like Dorothy Day or Martin Luther King Jr., centuries later.Nonviolent civil disobedien...

Experience the powerful legacy of Philip Berrigan’s nonviolent resistance to war and empireFrom the battlefields of World War II to the front lines of peace activism, Philip Berrigan evolved from soldier to scholar, priest to political prisoner. Confronting the fundamental nature of America’s military-focused culture, Berrigan took an unyielding stance against societal evils—war, systemic racism, unchecked materialism, and the baleful presence of nuclear weapons. I...

This illuminating examination of the Gospels reveals how the questions Jesus asks of his followers lead the way to a deeper understanding of the meaning of life and the mystery of God.The Gospels are filled with stories, parables, miracles, commandments, and dramatic incidents that trace Jesus’ life and recount his teachings. A close reading of the Gospels reveals, however, that they are also filled with questions. As John Dear points out in this remarkable book, Jesus, like any gr...

With a foreword by Nobel Winner Mairead Corrigan MaguireThe Beatitudes are “the hope and prayer and vision of Jesus…the blueprint for Christian discipleship, the job description of every Christian,” says John Dear. These stirring meditations are more than mere reflections. They are a call to action, a summons to take up the Beatitudes as a daily handbook for life, written by an internationally known voice for peace and nonviolence. Set against vivid descriptions of peace efforts in...

"Our world of war, poverty, corporate greed, racism, sexism, nuclear weapons, and catastrophic climate change demonstrates the total failure of violence," says John Dear. The internationally known peace activist and Nobel Prize nominee has always offered a single answer: Jesus. Now he invites us to follow the nonviolent Jesus through the holy season of Lent, beginning with Jesus' journey to Jerusalem and culminating in his resurrection and the new life of peace he brings to all. Deeply per...

"Our world of war, poverty, corporate greed, racism, sexism, nuclear weapons, and catastrophic climate change demonstrates the total failure of violence," says John Dear. The internationally known peace activist and Nobel Prize nominee has always offered a single answer: Jesus. Now he invites us to follow the nonviolent Jesus through the holy season of Lent, beginning with Jesus' journey to Jerusalem and culminating in his resurrection and the new life of peace he brings to all. Deeply per...

David Hartsough knows how to get in the way. He has used his body to block Navy ships and trains loaded with munitions; he has marched with mothers confronting violent regimes and stood with refugees threatened by death squads. Waging Peace is a testament to the difference one person can make. Hartsough's stories inspire, educate and encourage readers to find ways to work for a more just and peaceful world. Inspired by the examples of Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr., Hartsough ha...