Module One: The Fast of Justice
“Since once again, Lord . . . I have neither bread, nor wine, nor altar, I will raise myself beyond these symbols, up to the pure majesty of the real itself; I, your priest, will make the whole earth my altar and on it will offer you all the strivings and sufferings of the world.” (Chardin, The Mass on the World, “The Offering”)
“Is not this the fast that I choose:
to loose the bonds of injustice,
to undo the thongs of the yoke,
to let the oppressed go free,
and to break every yoke?
Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,
and bring the homeless poor into your house;
when you see the naked, to cover them,
and not to hide yourself from your own kin?”
Module One: The Fast of Justice
In preparation for this week's material, please read chapters 1–4 in Sandy Tolan’s The Lemon Tree. In addition, consider the following:
“The Lamb” by William Blake
Sandy Tolan’s website
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin’s Hymn of the Universe. We will be reading from the first section, “The Offering”
In creation, what role does innocence play?
In The Lemon Tree, the story opens on a complex history of place and belonging. What does that say about “clean slates?”
In The Hymn of the Universe, Chardin talks about being dislocated from the normal trappings of religion. What does his use of the world as altar imply?