#84 John Dear on meeting Franziska Jagerstatter in Austria and reflecting on the life and courage of her husband Franz Jagerstatter, one of the few men who refused to fight for Nazi Germany.
The Nonviolent JesusShow Notes
On this week's episode of The Nonviolent Jesus Podcast, I reflect on Franz Jagerstatter, one of the most important saints in history. In the late 1970s, while a student at Duke University, wondering what to do with my life, my grandmother gave me a pamphlet about Franz. I was amazed by the story of a young Austrian farmer, born on May 20, 1907, who in 1936 married Franziska, the local sacristan at their church in St. Radegund. HIs wife, Franziska, was a saint, so he tried to become a saint too. When the Nazis invaded Austria in 1938, nearly everyone in Austria supported the Nazis. In February 1943, Franz received a letter ordering him to turn himself in and join the Nazi military, where he would be sent off to the Russian front. He went and spoke with several priests and even the bishop. Each one of them said it was his duty as a Catholic to fight for Hitler. But what about Jesus? he asked them. So Franz refused to fight, was arrested, imprisoned, taken to Berlin, brought before the Nazi high court, condemned to death for “undermining military morale,” and beheaded on August 9, 1943. I’ve been studying him for decades, and in the 1990s, became a friend of his wife Franziska and family. In this episode, I review Franz’s life, my own experience with Franziska and his beatification in Austria, and some concluding lessons, which I hope will encourage you in your own commitment to the nonviolent Jesus. I think Franz demonstrates a new political mysticism, a sanctity that is a threat to the empire and the culture of war. I think this has to become the new norm, as it was in the early Church. “As a Christian, I prefer to do my fighting with the Word of God and not with arms,” he wrote from prison. “We need no rifles or pistols for our battle, but instead spiritual weapons—and the foremost among these is prayer…Let us love our enemies, bless those who curse us, pray for those who persecute us. For love will conquer and will endure for all eternity. And happy are they who live and die in God’s love.” beatitudescenter.org orbisbooks.org
More from The Nonviolent Jesus
On today’s episode I reflect on the life and witness of Dorothy Day, founder of the Catholic Worker. Last month, at the Catholic Institute for Nonviolence international conference in Rome, I suggested in my speech that it’s time we all took up Dorothy Day’s example and committed ourselves full time to Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. J ust after the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor, as the U.S. entered World War II, she published a bold headline saying, “Our Manifesto Is the Sermon on the Mount!” Thousands left her movement overnight. That is the stand that we all need to take. With that in mind, I’m offering a new podcast on the life and witness of Dorothy Day, to learn from her how we too can live as servants and disciples of the nonviolent Jesus and proclaim the coming of God’s reign of peace, even in a bad time. “Nonviolent resistance is the only sane solution,” she wrote during the war. “We have to continue to make our voice heard until we are finally silenced—and even then, in jail or concentration camp, to express ourselves. If there are not some who still hold this ideal, still speak in terms of the counsels of perfection, the ideal will be lost. I do not see why we must accept the inevitability of war. It was only in the last century that slavery was done away with here in this country, and I suppose that everybody thought it was something to be accepted. If we are working towards peace, we must look with hope that in a future generation, we will do away with war. With great suffering and great prayer, we are trying to hold up these ideals.” Listen in and be inspired! https://catholicworker.org/dorothy-day/ beatitudescenter.org God bless everyone! 🌻 John
“Catholicism has something vital to learn from other religious traditions,” says Cyprian Consiglio, Sec. Gen. of Monastic Interfaith Dialogue On today’s new episode of “The Nonviolent Jesus Podcast,” I speak with my friend Fr. Cyprian Consiglio, a well-known composer and musician, the former prior of the New Camaldoli Hermitage in Big Sur, Cal., and now the Sec. General of Monastic Interfaith Dialogue in Rome, a movement within the Benedictine and Cistercian orders that promotes interfaith dialogue between monastic communities of different religions. He is the author of several books including Prayer In the Cave of the Heart: the Universal Call to Contemplation; Spirit, Soul, Body: Toward an Integral Christianity Spirituality, and most recently, Epiphanies of Nature and Grace. “Catholicism and Christianity in general have something vital to learn from other religious traditions,” he tells John. “The world really depends on dialogue between the world religions. So many of our conflicts are based on our ignorance of other religions.” Recently when someone criticized him for wasting his time on a peripheral issue, he responded that every day the front page news is full of horrific violence based in Muslim fundamentalism, Jewish Zionism and Christian nationalism. "Everyone has a warped understanding of God", he says. Nothing could be more relevant. “Evil is very gaudy, loud and colorful; building deep bonds of friendship among the religious traditions around the world is quieter and sturdier. It’s another aspect of peacemaking,” he says. “One of the most important things we need right now is interreligious dialogue. We all need to find the next step in our maturity in the understanding of God.” Listen in and be inspired! God bless you all! beatitudescenter.org https://fatherjohndear.substack.com/ johndear.org
Today I speak with Wamuyu Wachira from Nairobi, Kenya, Pres. of Pax Christi International Sr. Wamũyũ, president of Pax Christi International, the official global Catholic peace movement, is a scholar, educator and peace practitioner with a PhD in Peace Studies. She serves as Senior Lecturer and Program leader in Peace and Conflict Studies at St. Paul University in Nairobi. “Nonviolence is a way of love, compassion, mercy and peace,” she says. “Pax Christi has 120 member organizations worldwide and has been promoting peace, justice and human rights for 81 years." "We believe peace is possible and the cycles of violence can be broken. We try to look at nonviolent ways to resolve conflict and war. We are committed to gospel nonviolence and call the Church to dedicate itself to gospel nonviolence." “I believe the Beatitudes should be part of our DNA. If someone cuts my finger, I want them to see nonviolence flow out of it." "We have to diffuse evil by first disarming ourselves. We have to choose daily the path of nonviolence. Don't give up!” she concludes. “You never know who sees you and is inspired by your nonviolent living.” Listen in and be inspired! God bless you all, 🌻 Fr. John www.paxchristi.net beatitudescenter.org
This week I speak with my friend Dennis Kucinich, former congressman from Ohio from 1997 to 2013 who has been an outspoken voice against war. He was perhaps the leading voice against the US war on Iraq, which killed hundreds of thousands of people. He also called for the impeachment of George W. Bush and Dick Cheney. I met Dennis about a month after 9/11, when New Jersey Peace Action decided to give us their annual peacemaker awards together. We were both told to meet on a Sunday morning at a country club in New Jersey, and when we each got there around 10 am, as I recall, we were the only ones there. So, we took a long walk on the golf course, shared our stories and became friends. Later, at the luncheon, we spoke to a room full of New Jersey peace activists. “It is possible to live a life that espouses peace?” Dennis Kucinich asks. “What is peace? It's an active presence of a capacity for reflection and alignment with love, brother and sisterhood and understanding the meaning of the golden rule." "We are interconnected and interdependent and we are all Children of God. We are at a pivot point in the history of the US right now. Unless we stop licensing, funding and creating implements of war, we will not survive as a nation." “War is one of the gravest offences because it takes away people's lives in a way that makes no sense. " "War is original sin." Kucinich spontaneously recites a poem for us: "I have only just a minute Only 60 seconds in it Forced upon me, can't refuse it Didn't seek it, didn't choose it But isn't up to me to use it Give account if I abuse it Heaven help me if I lose it Just one tiny little minute But eternity is in it" - Sister Lucia Listen in and be inspired! beatitudescenter.org 🌻, John
On today’s new episode of “The Nonviolent Jesus Podcast,” I speak with my friend Robert Jonas about the legendary spiritual writer Henri Nouwen, who died 30 years ago on September 26, 1996. Henri and I corresponded regularly for many years, right up until his death. Much to my surprise, he offered steadfast support for my peacework, especially when I was in jail for my plowshares action, when he wrote me every week. I thought it would be wonderful to welcome one of his best friends, Robert Jonas, to speak about Henri’s life, teachings, and lessons. Robert Jonas received his doctorate in education from Harvard University and has a Masters in theology from the Weston Jesuit School of Theology. He is the author/editor of The Essential Henri Nouwen, (Shambhala), as well as Henri Nouwen: Spiritual Master (Orbis) and Rebecca (Crossroad). His latest book is My Dear Far-Nearness: The Holy Trinity as Spiritual Practice (Orbis). “Henri lived in the in-between spaces of academia and the spiritual life,” Jonas says. “He was like a spelunker: he wanted to dig down deep beneath the psyche and the soul. He was convinced that we cannot help other people unless we accept our own woundedness. " "When we spoke, we could be honest with each other about our woundedness; we could actually name the wounds to each other… He wanted us to take responsibility for the things that are hurting us, to let the spirit come with us, to know that the spirit is with us, that we are never alone, that we are infinitely loved, that we are God’s beloved.” Henri’s best-sellers include The Wounded Healer; Out of Solitude: Reaching Out; In the Name of Jesus; Return of the Prodigal Son; Can You Drink the Cup; Life of the Beloved; Our Greatest Gift; and The Inner Voice of Love. Follow me on Substack https://fatherjohndear.substack.com/ and find me on FB and IG. And check out my two Henri books, The Road to Peace and Peacework. beatitudescenter.org Onward in peace with the nonviolent Jesus! 🌻, John