Fr. Kevin Ballard - Advent retreat via webinar Sat. Dec. 5th , 2 pm
Topic: Waiting in a time of waiting/Behold I am doing something new (Isaiah 43 verse 19. Save the date!

There are many in our parish who are in need of support due to emegency circumstances beyond their control. Consider making a food donation. Please read the flyer which explains how to do so (here).

We need bedding and blankets of all sizes and if anyone has a spare microwave, We'd love to have it.  

They are also looking for a wheelchair to accommodate someone weighing about 500-600 lbs. He needed to go to the hospital last week and as his wife was helping him to the car, she  injured herself. I know the wife is mid-50’s, and doesn’t qualify for Medicare. They don’t have insurance to cover ambulance service or a wheelchair.

Please call Terry,
650-714-2131
on behalf of Human Concerns Committee.

Weekly Bulletin  11-8-2020

• St. Louis U_Nov 15

• Creighton U_Nov 15

Once again we will be holding our Adopt a Family program for 5 families from Seton School who can especially use our help to celebrate this Christmas. However, this year because of the pandemic instead of passing out tags for members to shop for specific family gifts, we will be taking up a collection of monetary donations and dividing our collection among the 5 families. 

To donate by credit card through our TMC Website, click on the Donate button above, then click on Adopt-A-Family and complete the form.

Write checks to Thomas Merton Center with Adopt-A-Family on the memo line.  Mail to:
Thomas Merton Center
PO Box 60061
Palo Alto, CA  94036

Please donate by mid-December so that we can distribute funds to families in plenty of time before the holiday.

• Reading C.S.Lewis during the time of Covid
• Bishop McElroy seminar Feb. 2020 voting your conscience.
• America Magazine article on Vatican report on sexual abuse
   

The Transforming Power of Love

A Love Ethic
Wednesday, November 11, 2020

Because of my background, my language about love is often biblical, theological, psychological, and personal. While these are necessary and helpful frames, they certainly aren’t the only ones we should use. bell hooks (sic), a Black feminist scholar and activist, suggests how truly living by a “love ethic” could bring about much needed societal change. 

Culturally, all spheres of American life—politics, religion, the workplace, domestic households, intimate relations—should and could have as their foundation a love ethic. The underlying values of a culture and its ethics shape and inform the way we speak and act. A love ethic presupposes that everyone has the right to be free, to live fully and well. . . . Individuals who choose to love can and do alter our lives in ways that honor the primacy of a love ethic. We do this by choosing to work with individuals we admire and respect; by committing to give our all to relationships; by embracing a global vision wherein we see our lives and our fate as intimately connected to those of everyone else on the planet.

Commitment to a love ethic transforms our lives by offering us a different set of values to live by. In large and small ways, we make choices based on a belief that honesty, openness, and personal integrity need to be expressed in public and private decisions. . . . Living by a love ethic we learn to value loyalty and a commitment to sustained bonds over material advancement. While careers and making money remain important agendas, they never take precedence over valuing and nurturing human life and well-being. . . .

Embracing a love ethic means that we utilize all the dimensions of love—“care, commitment, trust, responsibility, respect, and knowledge”—in our everyday lives. We can successfully do this only by cultivating awareness. Being aware enables us to critically examine our actions to see what is needed so that we can give care, be responsible, show respect, and indicate a willingness to learn. . . .

Domination cannot exist in any social situation where a love ethic prevails. . . . When love is present the desire to dominate and exercise power cannot rule the day. All the great social movements for freedom and justice in our society have promoted a love ethic. Concern for the collective good of our nation, city, or neighbor rooted in the values of love makes us all seek to nurture and protect that good. If all public policy was created in the spirit of love, we would not have to worry about unemployment, homelessness, schools failing to teach children, or addiction. . . .

To live our lives based on the principles of a love ethic (showing care, respect, knowledge, integrity, and the will to cooperate), we have to be courageous. Learning how to face our fears is one way we embrace love. Our fear may not go away, but it will not stand in the way.