Author Archive
Mary Albert Darling
A Shout Out to St. Francis from My Dog (and me too)
Tuesday, October 4th, 2011
I am a huge animal lover, human and non human alike. I have a good role model for this love of animals in St. Francis of Assisi, who lived in the 12th century. Many know St. Francis as an advocate for those Jesus called “the least of these,” but not everyone knows that he deeply loved all of God’s creation, human and non human alike (some of whom he may very well have seen as being included in “the least of these”). In fact St. Francis was named the Patron Saint of Animals and the Environment, and his Feast Day is October 4. Some churches celebrate this day by having a “blessing of the animals” service. Our yellow lab Amelie, along with my sister-in-law and I, attended one of these services a few years ago, where cats, rabbits, and dogs all gathered in the courtyard of a local church to be corporately and individually blessed.
When Love Trumps Right Belief
Wednesday, January 19th, 2011
Each of us has directives we live by. The directive to love is at the very heart of most faith traditions, along with being the first and foremost standard to live by for many who do not profess a specific religious belief.
But as we know, directives can often be in conflict with each other, leading to what psychologists call cognitive dissonance. I may have love as my most important guiding principle in life, but if someone tries to take something precious from me, whether in the form of possessions, power, or even people, I may also firmly believe that it is right for me to defend, leading me to respond in ways that are anything but loving.
What do I do? If and when these two directives are in conflict, do I love or do I defend?
