Getting to the Heart of Interfaith: An interview with Imam Jamal Rahman.
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/icermradio/2016/07/02/getting-to-the-heart-of-interfaith
Jul5
Category Archives: Interfaith
May1
Interfaith Prayer for the Victims of Domestic Violence
Eternal Source of Light, Beauty and Holiness,
Never ending fountain of LOVE,
We your humble servants,
Of many faith traditions,
Come before you, and invoke your sacred presence.
From the depths of darkness we call forth your LIGHT,
Especially upon those whose lives have been turned into a living hell:
Women and Children,
Victims of senseless violence,
At the hands of those,
Who had been charged to love them.
From the depths of their despair,
We beseech your burning radiance,
To purify our hearts in the name of LOVE,
That our backs may not be turned,
To their turmoil and unrest.
Source of infinite compassion and mercy,
Awaken in us the will to protect, the will to advocate,
And the will to stand in courage and justice,
On behalf of those who have no advocates,
On behalf of those enslaved,
On behalf of those who have lost all hope.
Source of Wisdom and Benevolence,
Let their cry by our cry,
Let their weeping be our weeping,
Let their scars be our scars;
That we who put our trust in you,
May live their pain through you,
And say
no more,
no more,
no more. Amen!
©Wilfredo Benitez
Aug4
They Insist That Peace Will Never Be…
They insist that peace will never be,
That hatred runs too deep,
That it’s always been this way,
But your dance negates their claim.
You dance and spin
in a cloud of white softness,
You dance and spin.
Ascending into a heavenly arena.
No longer touching ground
you levitate,
and trace the realm of God…
…Their darkness cannot overtake you.
Born of a land tormented.
You dance as sisters
Israeli and Palestinian.
A whirlwind of Spirit envelops you.
Are you Jewish, Christian, or Muslim?
Are you all of the above, or none of the above?
Are you sisters born of Spirit?
The very Spirit that blows across the desert landscape
Searching zealously for Her lost daughters?
They insist that peace will never be,
But yours is a dance of peace.
Two sisters that belong to the land,
Two sisters who live in
The beauty of the other;
Two sisters fused in rhythm,
Synchronized in motion,
Moving in and out of Divine gyrations
beyond the realm of lies,
Beyond the realm of death!
They insist that peace will never be
but yours is a dance of perfect Peace, Shalom, Salam.
Yours is the dance of the Spirit of God!
Jul31
Gaza Names…
Each one of these names had a life,
Each one of these names was a child of God:
Ammar
Ibrahim
Khaled
Dunia
Each one of these names I helped to kill.
From across the oceans
their names travelled
hundreds of names, hundreds of lives
inscribed on paper
now drenched in the light of God.
On the sanctuary of the church they rest
bathing in the light of God, Allah, Elohim.
God who doesn’t see Jews,
God, who doesn’t see Christians,
God who doesn’t see Muslims.
Their names rise up to heaven
In a whirlwind of bombs and bullets they rise,
Into the arms of mercy they climb,
Their terror is no more.
But what of the living?
What of the killers in the name of God, Allah, Elohim?
What of the killers in the name of the State?
What of the mothers whose desolation will always be?
In the name of God we kill and lame,
God is feigned in our own image and likeness.
In the name of God we bring shame to ourselves
In the name of God we trample God’s light.
Each one of these names had a life,
Each one of these names was a child of God:
Ammar
Ibrahim
Khaled
Dunia
Each one of these names I helped to kill.
Jan16
Dance is a Path to the Spirit Within
Although religion can be blamed for much of the violence in the world, even terrorism, religion can also be a force for healing and reconciliation. I took this photo in 2007 at the Acco Theatre in Israel. In this photo two women, one Jewish/Israeli and the other Christian/Palestinian, dance for peace. They whirl in synchronicity like Sufi mystics breaking down the barrier of separation. This is a testament to what can be when loving one’s neighbor includes everyone. Dance is a path to the Spirit within, hallelujah!
