Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. Philippians 4:5
“In a monastery of the heart, the commitment to the development of Benedict’s concept of community must be far wider in this century than it was in the sixth. It must burst through the monastery gates into a world where national laws and local prejudices fail to take into account the effects of our over-consumption of food, energy, resources, and weaponry on those who find themselves hungry, empty-handed, and sick . . .
We must begin to define community globally rather than simply locally, and work at every level to make it so. We must see the moderation of consumption as our way to reach beyond the boundaries of our own lives to the obscenely poor—who stand outside looking in at our three-car garages and second homes and wish for simply enough of what we have to live a humanely human life themselves.”
Joan Chittister in The Monastery of the Heart: An Invitation to a Meaningful Life (Collegeville: BlueBridge, 2011) 93-94.
Chittister inspires me to work for compassionate community locally and globally through my teaching, speaking, and engagement with the global network of GTP. I hope she inspires you too where God has you.
To build compassionate community locally and globally, it starts with our everyday decisions. Talk to a person close to you about this question. What are ways we can exhibit moderation to show more compassion?