What
I want to achieve—what I have been striving
and pining to achieve these thirty years—is self-realization,
to see God face to face, to attain Moksa [Liberation]. I live
and move and have my being in pursuit of this goal. All that
I do by way of speaking and writing, and all my ventures in
the political field, are directed to this same end.
I worship God as Truth only. I have not yet found God, but
I am seeking after God... Often in my progress I have faint
glimpses of the Absolute Truth, God; daily the conviction
is growing upon me that He alone is real and all else unreal.
Mohandas K. Gandhi
Mohandas
K. Gandhi, renowned as the father of Indian independence,
was also a seeker who wanted very much to see the face of
God—and who found God in his life of sacrifice and service.
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us,
on what we believe is the most important value in our lives—happiness,
success, service, pleasure, security.
Creating a Community of
Caring Action
The fourth and final characteristic of the Samaritan centers
on the way he creates out of the least likely candidate a network
of compassionate care. At the time of Jesus, innkeepers were
notorious for thievery and cheating. In the parable the Samaritan
enlists the innkeeper as a strategic part of his act of kindness.
One might say that he thrusts the innkeeper into his compassion.
This completes the parable.
Reflection and prayer do not isolate
us. Indeed, everybody needs solitude. But solitude is neither
loneliness nor alienation. Solitude is the time we give to be
alone—with God, to exercise ownership over our own deepest desires
and ambitions. As we take time to incorporate the values of
the Samaritan into our own lives, to see, to feel compassion,
and to assess our gifts for the kingdom, we will find that God
leads us both into solidarity and into action.
The Eucharistic liturgy and the
rituals of other religious traditions at Boston College dramatically
remind us that we need one another to make our prayer complete.
For worship is not only turning towards God, but it is also
a turning towards other people. Every communal service asks
us to be
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