The times are challenging and it is easy to give up hope. Transforming and healing the earth requires marathon endurance, and not a one-time sprint. Social reformers need contemplation to restore their energy and to enable them to experience God's presence in their political and religious opponents. Contemplatives need to embrace community transformation and social justice to concretize their spiritual experiences.
A wise homilist may choose to lift up contemplative activists such as Mahatma Gandhi, Howard Thurman, Dorothy Day, Thomas Merton, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and Mother Teresa as examples of holistic spirituality for our time. In addition, he or she might schedule a class on Centering Prayer or other forms of meditation to give congregants experiences in contemplation.
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