[…] Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori spoke about the role of the heart during her sermon at the gathering’s closing Eucharist. Countering violence requires custody of the heart,” she said. “Violence begins in the heart, especially in hearts that have been wounded and scarred by the violence of others, and then react and respond aggressively, in overly defended ways. Violence begins in the heart that cannot countenance vulnerability – rooted in fear that its own vitality will be extinguished.” Violence is intrinsically kin to evil, she said, while “the ultimate counterforce to fear is perfect love, the ability to share life to the full, with radical vulnerability, in the face of those who would destroy it.” “Feeding the rage of violence may briefly burn out the heart of aggression, but it only increases the carnage,” Jefferts Schori said. “It does not increase love.” […]
Posted on: Mon, 14 Apr 2014 18:48:10 +0000