Discord is a discrepancy of the will which prevents it from conforming to the will of God in such matters as it ought to conform for the glory of God and the good of the neighbor; and it is a grave sin, because St Paul counts dissensions among those sins which exclude those who commit them from the kingdom of heaven. And God declares His hatred and abhorrence of all those that disseminate discord among their neighbors. Dissensions arise generally from pride, which prompts us to over-esteem ourselves and to set our own welfare and opinions against those of others, and from this arises the quarrelling, litigation, obstinacy, slandering, faction, hatred, strife and many other evils without number and without end. –”Humility of Heart” by Capuchin Gaetano (Cajetan) Maria da Bergamo

This quote from the book on Humility recommended by Father Chad Ripperger assisted in assuaging discontent regarding a men’s prayer group I recently have been participating in. The concentration of the group has become dominated by politics. In accord with political positions, I am not at peace with the spiritual approach. My faith has never, nor can it be, centered upon politics. I am confident in my discernment regarding my spiritual call, blessed with a spiritual guide who knows me in some ways better than I know myself. I am convinced national and global political matters have risen to the point of the diabolic. Obsession with political matters, even with the stoutest attempts at spiritual expression, can leave one defeated. The vast majority of those fanatical about politics are spiritual disasters. We do not place our faith in the princes of the world. Our neighbors are not only those who agree with us. We are willing to accept defeat, humiliation, and the angry words/acts of those who despise us. The gentleman leading the prayer group discussed the fact his neighbor has threatened to murder him and his wife. He has brought law enforcement into the matter. As the prayer leader says, the neighbor despises the fact he is white—though the neighbor himself is white, and also the facts he is Catholic and politically conservative. He is attaining a carry and conceal permit in order to arm himself. He has discussed the situation with his other neighbors and they agree he is in the right. There was a lack of accountability, a delusion, that remained uncomfortable. After the prayer group, I attended another prayer group in which we assembled at a Cleveland police divisional headquarters, praying for the police officers and emergency responders working out of the facility. The prayers were empty, busy-body, self-serving in my interpretation. All well-meaning men I highly respect, I understood something was amiss. My spiritual guide instructed me that I had veered away from my calling which is that of a contemplative. From my earliest adult years, I hold closely in my mind words from the I Ching, verse 29. You never have to worry about a lack of those desiring to change the world. They will always be there, agreeing and disagreeing, in multitudes.

Do you think you can take over the universe and improve it?
I do not believe it can be done.
The universe is sacred.
You cannot improve it.
If you try to change it, you will ruin it.
If you try to hold it, you will lose it.