Category Christian Compassion

Apr 19 2015

How The OKC Bombing Affected Me


April 19, 1995, 9:02 am ~ Edmond, OK

Crack…the walls of my home shudder. I think, Something terrible just happened.

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This weekend marks twenty years since the Oklahoma City Bombing of the Murrah Building heralded a new era of  global terrorism. At the time I was a suburban housewife, raising my family in a “safe” little community, in a “safe” state (not counting the tornadoes.)

The days and weeks that followed the bombing impacted all the residents of the city, profoundly. We walked around in shock, crying or numb. Forever changed.

Personally, the bombing tumbled my world view. But not necessarily in a bad way. It certainly wiped out my illusion of living in a “safe” bubble of geography. Until that time, terrorism was a remote problem in foreign countries. A bomb going off in a Middle East cafe, taking out innocent bystanders, brought only a mild shrug. 

I had no compassion. No empathy. American middle class me, could not identify.

After Oklahoma City, I could feel the pain. I understood the shock and anguish of 911. I recognized those desperate souls holding up pictures captioned Have You See Her? They were my people.

Since then, I’ve felt the pain for the families of people caught up in global massacres, disasters, and tragedies profoundly in my heart.

The illusion of my safe, insulated life was forever stripped away, but I gained global awareness. We are all in this thing called life together. Terrible things are going to happen. How do we respond?

There are no easy answers. But, compassion is a good beginning. In small ways, I’ve tried to make my corner of the world a kinder, more loving place. 

Perhaps, the prayer of St. Francis of Assisi is the best response we can take to honor lost loved ones and create hope for the future.

Prayer of St. Francis

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace,
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy;

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

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Blessings,

Dana Taylor

 

 

Nov 2 2013

Boundless Compassion in Action

Spiritual Activism–Article Three

Putting faith into action is certainly exemplified by Homeboy Industries, founded by Father Gregory Boyle. Father Greg is the long term priest for the Dolores Mission in the gang center of the world, Los Angeles. Seeing a dire need for jobs to short-circuit the cycle of violence and prison sentences, Father Greg began putting gang members and ex-cons to work. As he relates in the excellent TATTOOS ON THE HEART: The Power of Boundless Compassion (see my review), having rival gang members work side-by-side often fostered a kinship that led to a life beyond the barrio.

“Homeboy Industries has been the tipping point to change the metaphors around gangs and how we deal with them in Los Angeles County. This organization has engaged the imagination of 120,000 gang members and helped them to envision an exit ramp off the “freeway” of violence, addiction and incarceration. And the country has taken notice. We have helped more than 40 other organizations replicate elements of our service delivery model, broadening further the understanding that community trumps gang — every time.”  – Father Greg

The Homeboy Bakery and the Home Girl Café produce wholesome food, while employing and training marginalized members of the community. Other businesses Homeboy Silk Screen and Embroidery, Solar Panel Installation Training and Certification, Homeboy Farmer’s Market, and Homeboy Merchandise. Services to the community include tattoo removal, job counseling, mental health, substance abuse, and domestic violence counseling.

Visit HomeboyIndustries.Org for more information.

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Homeboy Industries and the philosophy of Father Greg is influencing communities around the world with the Power of Boundless Compassion. Click Here to see Video.

Read the Homeboy Stories at their blog http://www.homeboystories.blogspot.com/

Order bakery goods now on-line at HomeBoyFoods.com

  

Oct 22 2013

La Mama to the Prisoners Passes

First in a Series on Spiritual Activism–

Sister AntoniaSister Antonia Brenner passed away this week at the age of 86. She lived a life putting her convictions into action. A new wave of “Spiritual Activism” appears to be afoot. In the next few articles, I’ll be focusing on people putting their spirituality into action. Sister Antonia is a very good place to start.

After living a full life as a well-to-do California woman, mother to seven children, twice divorced, in 1977 she sold all of her possessions and moved into a cell in the La Mesa penitentiary in Tijuana, Mexico, to serve the inmates. For over thirty years, Sister Antonia Brenner would counsel, feed, clothe and show Christ’s love to the lowest, meanest, and most forgotten. She brought light into the darkness.

Read her full life story in the Los Angeles Times. See a clip on YouTube about the documentary La Mama: An American Nun in a Mexican Prison

A life well lived–Sister Antonia Brenna, the angels are welcoming you home.

Oct 9 2013

“The Heavenly Man,” a modern day Apostle Paul

One day last week as I was about to begin my meditation time I felt led to go look for something to read in my husband’s book closet. His theological books were his treasures, but they don’t make for easy reading. As I stood before the open closet looking at the shelves filled with boxes, I thought, Now what? The answer came quickly, Pull the third box. A powder-blue book cover grabbed my attention—The Heavenly Man: The Remarkable Story of Chinese Christian Brother Yun. That was the one.

While The Heavenly Man is one family’s story, it is also reveals a glimpse of the amazing birth of the House Church movement in China. Brother Yun was born in 1958 in a remote farming village in China. His family had a sliver of information about the existence of the Son of God named Jesus. His illiterate mother remembered a few Bible verses she’d been taught as a child before Christian missionaries and their message were eradicated by the Communist Revolution.

When Yun is 16 years old, his father becomes terminally ill. Facing starvation, the mother prays to Jesus for help–loudly, desperately, continually. Her prayers are answered. The father makes a miraculous recovery and the family is the first Christian outpost in their village. Yun becomes a fervent follower of Jesus, calling in heavenly guidance, and begins a movement of spirit akin to the tales of Paul and the first followers of Christ as told in the Book of Acts. Like those earliest believers who faced the wrath of the Roman Empire, the House Church Christians of China suffer the persecution of the Communist government. But from the crucible of suffering comes strength and determination to follow the path of Jesus.

Encouraged by continual divine intervention, Yun evangelizes wherever he goes, often in prison. Despite cattle prods and beatings, he never denies his faith, although he admits spiritual pride occasionally sends him on a rough road. His wife, Deling, and their two children also endure hardships beyond the imagination of most Westerners, all for the sake of the gospel. The ripple effect of their faith and others like them has inspired tens of millions of Chinese to meet secretly in House Churches and continue pursuing the Great Commission.

This is an unfolding story of Spirit working in our midst. In the darkest places, among the cruelest regimes, the Light still shines. If you’re looking for real inspiration, and perhaps a life purpose, pick up a copy of The Heavenly Man.

May 9 2013

God’s Grace even in Iran

I saw this pop up on Kindle this morning and thought I would pass it on—
Kindle Daily Deal — $1.99, reg price $22.99
Embark on a chilling journey inside one of the world’s darkest and most dangerous places: Evin, the notorious Tehran prison. Here, prisoners are routinely tortured, abused, and violated. Executions are frequent and sudden. But for two women imprisoned for their Christian faith—Maryam Rostampour and Marziyeh Amirizadeh—this hell on earth was a place of unlikely grace as they reflected God’s love and compassion to their fellow prisoners and guards. Against all odds, Evin would become the only church many of them had ever known.
In Captive in Iran, Maryam and Marziyeh recount their 259 days in Evin. It’s an amazing story of unyielding faith—when denying God would have meant freedom. Of incredible support from strangers around the world who fought for the women’s release. And of bringing God’s light into one of the world’s darkest places—giving hope to those who had lost everything, and showing love to those in despair.
Read customer reviews: Click here
Jan 8 2013

Christianity and Reiki

There are the sayings, “like attracts like” and “birds of a feather flock together.” I’ve found in my Reiki practice and the responses to Ever-Flowing Streams: Christ, Reiki, Reincarnation and Me that I am attracting people grounded in a Christian tradition, but willing to think outside the box. Much of Ever-Flowing Streams chronicles my pursuit of knowledge about energy healing within the Christian culture. Can a Christian comfortably visit or become a Reiki therapist? Let’s get some perspective on the issue.

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  • Reiki is not a religion. People of many religious affiliations or no religious affiliations are participating in the energy healing movement. Its roots come from Japan and an Eastern world view, but it is utilizing universal energies—like electricity.
  • Are there “magic” symbols? The symbols in Reiki have specific meanings and many are Japanese words or phrases. They are used as meditation focus points to enable the practitioner to concentrate a healing intention, such as sending distance healing. The idea of “magic” is primarily a Western concept that arises from Occult activity. Reiki symbols are more akin to mediating and quieting the mind toward a certain goal. Reiki symbols are part of Sacred Geometry, carrying healing energetic frequencies.
  • Where does the healing power come from? The same question was asked of Jesus Christ when he walked the earth and healed the multitudes. Some accused him of being in league with the Devil. He knew how to use the universal healing energies in a very efficient manner. I began studying energy healing within the church and simply kept learning. The Reiki energies come from another dimension, unseen to the human eye, but quite real. As humans evolve and become multi-sensory, access to these energies and the intelligence behind them will become more common.

Personally, I consider myself a follower of Christ and the expansion into energy work is a further manifestation of living out my spiritual path. However, I don’t press my religious beliefs on clients.  Energy work encompasses transmitting healing vibrations into the subtle (energetic ) body of the client. The practitioner may also pick up information, such as sensing that an organ is stressed, like a low thyroid. The energies emitted are utilized by the client to the best of their ability to assimilate it. None of this activity is tied to a religion. For more information about Christianity and Reiki, visit http://www.christianreiki.org/ and The International Center for Reiki Training

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