Welcome to the Beatitudes Center for the Nonviolent Jesus!

Listen on Apple, Spotify, all major platforms,
and the National Catholic Reporter

February 10, 2025

#6, Fr. John Dear on “The Nonviolence of Jesus: 10 Essentials”

In this podcast, John Dear offers a general overview of ten essential points about the nonviolence of Jesus from the Sermon on the Mount and his sending 72 disciples ahead as “lambs into the midst of wolves,” to his nonviolent civil disobedience in the Temple, his Passover new covenant of nonviolence (“My blood shed for you, do this!,” as opposed to: “Go shed their blood for me”); the Gethsemani commandment “Put down the sword!” and the cross and resurrection. As he reviews the nonviolence of Jesus, he will invite us to take up the Gospel challenge anew and work for justice, disarmament, and peace in a spirit of steadfast, loving nonviolence. Fr. John Dear is a priest, activist, and author of 40 books including The Beatitudes of Peace and The Gospel of Peace: Reading Matthew, Mark, and Luke from the Perspective of Nonviolence, and the founder and director of www.beatitudescenter.org See www.johndear.org

Next week…

The Nonviolent Jesus Podcast welcomes Sr. Joan Chittister! For more information, visit here.

Listen on Apple, Spotify, all major platforms,
and the National Catholic Reporter

February 17, 2025

#7, Fr. John Dear in conversation with Sr. Joan Chittister on “Jesus and the Beatitudes,” Part 1 of 3

In this podcast, the first of a series of three, Fr. John Dear talks with Sr. Joan Chittister about Jesus’ response to the times he lived in and his teachings in Beatitudes. Sr. Joan will propose that the Beatitudes are not prayers but fundamental Christian attitudes that we adopt for the rest of our lives. Here, they will also reflect on the first three Beatitudes—the poor in spirit, those who mourn, and the meek, humble, and gentle. Sr. Joan Chittister is an internationally known lecturer and teacher, a columnist for The National Catholic Reporter, and the author of 60 books including The Time Is Now; Becoming Fully Human; Radical Spirit; Aspects of the Heart; The Gift of Years; and The Rule of Benedict. She has served as Benedictine prioress and Benedictine federation president, president of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, and co-chair of the Global Peace Initiative of Women. Visit www.joanchittister.org

Next week…

The Nonviolent Jesus Podcast welcomes Sr. Joan Chittister Part 2! For more information, visit here.

Upcoming Zoom Programs:

“The Gospel According to John,” A Lenten Series with Fr. John Dear

 

Monday, March 10th. Session #1—4:00 PT/7 pm ET
Monday, March 17th. Session #2—4:00 PT/7 pm ET
Monday, March 24th. Session #3—4:00 PT/7 pm ET
Monday, March 31st. Session #4—4:00 PT/7 pm ET
Monday, April 7th. Session #5—4:00 PT/7 pm ET

 

“Seeding Hope in Precarious Times with Thomas Merton” with Gordon Oyer

Saturday April 26, 2025

11 am Pacific, 12 PM Mountain, 1 PM Central, 2 PM Eastern

 

“The Nonviolent Jesus and the Violent Authoritarians” with Brian McLaren

Saturday May 17, 2025

11 am Pacific, 12 PM Mountain, 1 PM Central, 2 PM Eastern

 

John Dear’s new book now available

“The Gospel of Peace:
Reading Matthew, Mark & Luke
from the Perspective of Nonviolence”

For info, click here
 
To order, Call Orbis Books at 1-800-258-5838
 
 
 
 

To invite John Dear to speak in your city, write to: john@beatitudescenter.org 

National Catholic Reporter Review of “The Gospel of Peace,” click here
 
To watch Fr. John’s interview with Dean Young of Grace Cathedral about the book, click here
 
To watch Fr. John’s sermon at Grace Cathedral, San Francisco, on Jan. 21, 2024, (at the 30 minute mark) click here

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LATEST NEWS FROM THE BEATITUDES CENTER

Quote for the Day: 

“The wolf shall live with the lamb; the leopard shall lie down with the kid. The calf and the lion will feed together, and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze; their young shall lie down together;
and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put its hand on the
adder’s den. They will not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain,
for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the God of peace as the waters cover the sea.”

(Isaiah 11:6–9)

Quote for the Day: 

“I am called in the Word of God — as is everyone else — to the vocation of being human, nothing more and nothing less … To be a Christian
means to be called to be an exemplary human being. And to be a Christian categorically does not mean being religious. Indeed, all religious versions of the gospel are profanities. In the face of death, live humanly. In the middle of chaos, celebrate the Word. Amidst Babel, speak the truth. Confront the noise and verbiage and falsehood of death with the truth and potency and efficacy of the Word of God. Know the Word, teach the Word, nurture the Word, preach the Word, define the Word, incarnate the Word, do the Word, live the Word. And more than that, in the Word of God, expose death and all death’s works and wiles, rebuke lies,
cast out demons, exorcise, cleanse the possessed,
raise those who are dead in mind and conscience.”

–William Stringfellow

February 15, 2025

Dear friends, Blessings of Christ’s peace! 

What if the Beatitudes weren’t just comforting words, but a blueprint for a way of life? What if Jesus wasn’t just offering hope, but a call to action in a world of injustice, violence, and oppression? What if we took the Beatitudes seriously and started all over again to live what he says?

In the next episode of The Nonviolent Jesus Podcast, to be posted on Monday, February 17th, I talk with my friend, the legendary Sr. Joan Chittister to unpack the Beatitudes—not as prayers, but as bold, countercultural ways of living that challenge systems of power. Monday’s will be part 1 of a 3 part series on the Beatitudes!

“The 8 Beatitudes of life are actually the 8 attitudes for life!” Sr. Joan says.

Together, we dive deep into:

  • Blessed are the poor in spirit – What does it mean to let go of ego and privilege in a world  obsessed with power?
  •  Blessed are those who mourn – How do we turn grief into action in the face of war, climate collapse, and social injustice?
  • Blessed are the meek, humble, and gentle – Why is humility a revolutionary force for peace?

As usual, Sr. Joan doesn’t hold back— “The Beatitudes are not prayers of supplication: they are the reality of everything we could get out of life right now.” She speaks truth to power as the fierce advocate for justice, peace, and human dignity that we know her to be. A Benedictine sister, activist, and author of 60+ books, she’s spent her life challenging the Church, political systems, and all of us to live out our faith with courage. See: www.joanchittister.org