Living Peace: Connecting Your Spirituality with Your Work for Justice

Book excerpt: Longtime labor and immigration rights activist Victor Narro believes it's time to bring spirituality into social justice work. To that end, his book Living Peace provokes dialogue for the sharing and integration of spirituality among those working for peace and justice. Narro reveals how the life and teachings of St. Francis of Assisi shape his work, teaching him the way of peace, love, and service, and how through interaction with other activists, his Franciscan spirituality has also been enriched by that of others, such as Vietnamese Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh. As he shares his reflections on various ways spirituality can nourish social activism, Narro invites readers to contemplate and then express what's inside their own hearts as they awaken to the power of shared spirituality as a force for social justice. The book's simple, elegant structure presents each reflection along with several questions and the space to write responses. Each book will become a personal spiritual tool for activists, providing guidance that can make the struggle for justice more compassionate, more fulfilling, and healthier for everyone.