"Of the Week's"

My Dog and My God

Last Friday my dog ate an entire chocolate torte.  One of these:

 

I walked into my house and was like, "Surprise!  Your dog is one sick little puppy!"  It wasn't pleasant.  It's a miracle he didn't die.

There is a reason that there are rules.  In my house, we have the rule that the dog doesn't eat entire chocolate tortes.  And even though he wants to, and it feels good at the time, he really needs to learn to obey the rules.  Because I doesn't feel good (for anyone) later on.

God gave us rules.  It's true.  But He doesn't give us rules because He is mean or unfair.  He gives us rules because He loves us and doesn't want us to be sick, hurt, or dead.   If everyone were to obey all of God's commandments all the time, people would experience great peace and joy.  It would be easy to obey Him if everyone else was obeying Him.  If it was cool to do so.  

Eating an entire chocolate torte may sound good at the time, but I promise you (and God promises you) that it isn't worth it! 

 

Bible Verse of the Week 

Oh, the irony!  Today is Valentine's Day.  I am single, which isn't the worst thing to ever happen to a person (although Facebook might tell you differently!).  Anyway, I was not sure what I should do for my Bible verse, so I did Bible Roulette a bit differently.  I went to www.biblegateway.com and typed in any book of the Bible that popped into mind.  It was 1 Corinthians.  Then I typed the first number that came to mind.  It was seven.  Then I typed the first number that came to mind after that.  It was eight.  Guess what God's message for me today was!
  
"Now to the unmarried and the widows I say: It is good for them to stay unmarried, as I do" - 1 Corinthians 7:8.  

Thanks, God, for that one! 

Saint Quote of the Week:   

^{"The things that we love tell us what we are" - Saint Thomas Aquinas}

Prayer of the Week:  

To keep us humble during Lent, pure of heart on Valentine's Day, and full of love always, there is not better prayer than this:

Hail Mary, Full of Grace,
The Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou among women
And blessed is the Fruit of they womb, Jesus.

Holy Mary, Mother of God,
Pray for us sinners,
Now and at the hour of our death.

Amen.     

 Video of the Week:  

Perfect!  I have no words for this.  It says it itself!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uo2OF2Qb7I

"Of the Week's"

My Dog and My God

This morning, my dog got a long overdue bath.  And let's just say that he was not very excited about it.  I tried a new technique with him, where I tried just calling him into the bathroom, instead of leading him there by the collar.  It didn't work.  He just ran circles around my room, trying to avoid me.  I eventually caught him, got him in the bath, and cleaned him up.

But I know he won't stay clean for long.  As soon as I wash him, he goes outside and rolls in something nasty, totally undoing the work that I have done.  And then he'll be stinky and gross again for a while until I bathe him once more.

He thinks that he enjoys being dirty, but I know that he doesn't.  Because, when he is clean, he doesn't spend as much time cleaning himself.  There are times when I know that he is cleaning himself because he is uncomfortable from being dirty.  Plus, I don't give him as much attention when he is super dirty, because he's just gross, and he makes my skin itchy.  But when he's clean, he gets all the attention he could ask for!

Letting God clean us up in Reconciliation can be difficult.  Rather than run in circles around my room like my dog did when avoiding the bath, I make excuses for why I can't go to Reconciliation.  "I'm too busy."  Or, well, that's really the main excuse that I use.  And sometimes, God works so hard to get me there, it's like He's pulling on my collar.

But when I go, I'm far less uncomfortable than when I don't.  I don't have to stress about getting there.  I know that my relationship with God is good, and that any ties that I severed are fixed.  I know that God is there, because I let Him be there.

I eventually roll in nasty sin again.  Sometimes very quickly after Reconciliation.  But being clean, as temporary as it is, is wonderful.

 

Bible Verse of the Week 

I have struggled with self-pity for most of my life (even if I don't have any real reason to pity myself, I still find a reason to do so).  Lately I have been working very hard at this, which has been freeing in many ways.  If you struggle with self-pity, here are some words from Scripture to help you out:
  
"Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything" - James 1:2

Saint Quote of the Week:   

<sup>Again with the theme of overcoming self pity:

"We always find that those who walked closest to Christ were those who had to bear the greatest trials" - St Theresa of Avila</sup>

Prayer of the Week:  

Again, about self-pity:

God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference. 
 
Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
Forever in the next.
Amen.

--Reinhold Niebuhr

 Video of the Week:  

I like this video, because I think that the Pope is so brave here!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOx045-UlBc

"Of the Week's"

My Dog and My God

Last weekend, I was away leading a retreat for our high school teens.  Now, I have to explain, that the few days after a retreat are usually spent in a semi-conscious state.  I'm sure that is not just true for me, but for all retreat participants.  We are exhausted emotionally, physically, and spiritually.  And, in his own way, my dog is too.  He gets to spend retreats at my mom's house, with all of the crazy dogs who live there, too!  But, once the first few days are over, he feels much more rested, while I'm still trying to catch up on sleep.  And he gets anxious, wanting to be taken out for walks, play with things, and eat stuff.  I just want to sit on my couch, eat pizza, and watch movies.  Unfortunately, neither of us gets what we want!

 

When my dog doesn't get exercise, he gets restless, much like I do when I don't exercise my soul.  Long periods of time without prayer leave me feeling restless.  And much like exercise, the more I don't do it, the more I don't want to do it.  It's strange how that feeds itself.

 

Feelings of restlessness are easy to combat, actually, though they seem hopeless at the time.  If you're feeling restless, bored, anxious or frustrated, try giving yourself a little spiritual exercise.  Because, like my dog, if you don't get that exercise, you could end up damaging something.

 

(Let's play "I Spy," to see if you can find all of the things my dog destroyed while bored.  There is a sock, ribbon, a compass, a dog bone, a chew toy, a flip flop and a rag)

   

 

 

Bible Verse of the Week 

I was having a really hard week (it is, after all, the week after a retreat), and I was praying, but I knew that I wasn't really listening to God's answer to my question.  I asked, but then I tuned Him out.  Which, as we know, is never a good thing.  At one point, I started complaining to God about how small my faith is.  About how stubborn I am.  About how little I trust.  I asked Him to let me hear Him, I almost begged in fact, but I was still closed off to His answer.  Afterwards (after I didn't hear Him), I was walking past my dresser, that had a Bible that I never use sitting on it.  Something (cough cough God cough cough) told me to pick up the Bible and read what it said.  I felt like God was putting me in my place with this verse.  It still doesn't answer the question that I asked Him to answer, but it does tell me that He's listening to me.  And for that, I love Him.

"Then Jesus said to her in reply, 'O woman, great is your faith!  Let it be done for you as you wish'" - Matthew 15:28.

Saint Quote of the Week:   

I chose this week's Saint quote because it reminds me to be grateful for the fact that I have neither form of poverty.  It reminds me that, even though I feel lonely from time to time, that I am surrounded by people who love me.  And even though I don't have a ton of money, I still manage to buy food (even if it's Ramen Noodles, which is rare).  Thank God that poverty has not affected my life.

"Being unwanted, unloved, uncared for, forgotten by everybody, I think that is a much greater hunger, a much greater poverty than the person who has nothing to eat" - Mother Teresa

Prayer of the Week:  

If you've never used a litany to pray before, it's a beautiful way to pray.  I have to admit, when my boss assigned this prayer to the Core Team once a couple of years ago, I thought that it was weird and stupid.  But after I did it a few times (yes, it did take me a few times), I realized how amazing Mary really is.  I never knew that she was all of these things.  Things I didn't even understand.  And my love for Mary grew more than I can say.  I encourage you to pray this every day for at least a week, to see how it transforms your life!

 

Lord, have mercy on us.

Christ, have mercy on us.

Lord, have mercy on us.

Christ, hear us.

Christ, graciously hear us.

God the Father of Heaven,

Have mercy on us.

God the Son, Redeemer of the world,

Have mercy on us.

God the Holy Ghost,

Have mercy on us.

Holy Trinity, one God,

Have mercy on us.

Holy Mary,

pray for us.

Holy Mother of God,

pray for us.

Holy Virgin of virgins,

pray for us.

Mother of Christ,

pray for us.

Mother of divine grace,

pray for us.

Mother most pure,

pray for us.

Mother most chaste,

pray for us.

Mother inviolate,

pray for us.

Mother undefiled,

pray for us.

Mother most amiable,

pray for us.

Mother most admirable,

pray for us.

Mother of good counsel,

pray for us.

Mother of our Creator,

pray for us.

Mother of our Savior,

pray for us.

Virgin most prudent,

pray for us.

Virgin most venerable,

pray for us.

Virgin most renowned,

pray for us.

Virgin most powerful,

pray for us.

Virgin most merciful,

pray for us.

Virgin most faithful,

pray for us.

Mirror of justice,

pray for us.

Seat of wisdom,

pray for us.

Cause of our joy,

pray for us.

Spiritual vessel,

pray for us.

Vessel of honor,

pray for us.

Singular vessel of devotion,

pray for us.

Mystical rose,

pray for us.

Tower of David,

pray for us.

Tower of ivory,

pray for us.

House of gold,

pray for us.

Ark of the Covenant,

pray for us.

Gate of Heaven,

pray for us.

Morning star,

pray for us.

Health of the sick,

pray for us.

Refuge of sinners,

pray for us.

Comforter of the afflicted,

pray for us.

Help of Christians,

pray for us.

Queen of angels,

pray for us.

Queen of patriarchs,

pray for us.

Queen of prophets,

pray for us.

Queen of apostles,

pray for us.

Queen of martyrs,

pray for us.

Queen of confessors,

pray for us.

Queen of virgins,

pray for us.

Queen of all saints,

pray for us.

Queen conceived without Original Sin,

pray for us.

Queen assumed into Heaven,

pray for us.

Queen of the most holy Rosary,

pray for us.

Queen of peace,

pray for us.

Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world,

Spare us, O Lord.

Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world,

Graciously hear us, O Lord.

Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world,

Have mercy on us.

Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God,

That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Grant, we beseech Thee, O Lord God, that we Thy Servants may enjoy perpetual health of mind and body and by the glorious intercession of the Blessed Mary, ever Virgin, be delivered from present sorrow and unjoy enternal happiness. Through Christ Our Lord. Amen.
Approved by Pope Sixtus V in 1587

Video of the Week:  

The theme song from our retreat this past weekend.  What a great song.  It inspires me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GfosSggwQS0

"Of the Week's"

My Dog and My God

Every morning, when I wake up, my dog is so excited to see me.  He starts the day jumping up and down, trying to lick my face, and acting like a complete psychopath!  It's really cute.

Oh to be a psychopath for God!  I think that the most important way to start our day is with prayer.  Even if it's just as simple as making the sign of the cross and offering the day to Jesus.  To be as excited about seeing Jesus as my dog is about seeing me, would make my day so wonderful, no matter what happens during the rest of that day.  So, I encourage you, when you wake up, not to curse God for making the morning, but to thank Him, and to offer your day to Him.

Bible Verse of the Week 

I really like this Bible verse, because it reminds me that no matter how much people sin, God will always use what we create for the greater good.  Joseph, of all people, could relate to that, since his brothers tried to kill him, then sold him into slavery, and then Joseph was thrown in jail after being falsely accused of a crime.  But God used all of that, and He used Joseph's patience, to bring about a fruitful and full life for Joseph.  Just remember, that God is good, even when people aren't.

"But Joseph said to them, 'Don't be afraid.  Am I in the place of God?  You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.'"

Saint Quote of the Week:   

Sometimes the writings of the Saints are so complicated and difficult that I have no idea what they are saying.  And sometimes they are so simple that I am astonished by the fact that I, myself, did not say it.  That's how this week's quote is for me.  It's so simple, and yet, so profound.  

"Since Christ Himself said, 'This is My Body' who shall dare to doubt that It is His Body?" - Saint Cyril of Jerusalem.

Prayer of the Week:  

Jesus, the very thought of Thee
With sweetness fills the breast!
Yet sweeter far Thy face to see
And in Thy Presence rest.
No voice can sing, no heart can frame,
Nor can the memory find,
A sweeter sound than Jesus' Name,
The Saviour of mankind.
O hope of every contrite heart!
O joy of all the meek!
But what to those who find? Ah!  This
Nor tongue nor pen can show
The love of Jesus, what it is,
None but His loved ones know.
Jesus!  our only hope be Thou,
As Thou our prize shalt be;
In Thee be all our glory now,
And through eternity.  Amen.    

Video of the Week:  

This is my favorite hymn, and it is sung by one of my favorite artists. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhvaDJTUmrU

Spiritual AND Religious

I don't think that many would disagree with the statement that the internet is an extremely sad place these days.  One thing that I see a lot of is the argument about which is better, being religious or being spiritual.

 It's amazing to me how heated and hurtful the debate about “religious vs. spiritual” can get.  I guess that I can understand that there are a lot of people out there who have been hurt by institutionalized religion, and I can understand how that could leave a sour taste in their mouths.  How could it not?  I would be lying if I pretended like there aren’t bad examples in churches throughout the world today.  There is hypocrisy.  There is an unhealthy materialism.  There is pride, greed, gluttony, and lust.  These things are real, they are problems, and they need to be dealt with.  But there are two sides to every story, and I have experienced a lot of hurt from so-called "spiritual" people about my faith, simply because I consider myself to be both spiritual and religious.  

What are the differences?  Well, there are probably more in-depth answers to this question, but I think that, in an effort to keep it simple, I will just say that spiritual people tend to have a more private idea of spirituality.  It’s all about the interior self, and it’s not about being public.  On the other hand, those who are called religious belong to an institution.  It’s more public.

Now, when I said that I consider myself to be both spiritual and religious, I meant it.  And I don’t think that I was contradicting myself, either.  In fact, it is because I am religious that I am spiritual.  And I want to make that very clear.  My religion causes my spirituality.  Not the other way around.  I have a very full prayer life, and it isn't consistent of just one or two types of prayer.  I look for God in all things:  people, animals, nature.  Even things that humans create:  architecture, art, sports, movies, music.  And I talk with Him every day.  My spirituality consists of maintaining friendships with those who are in heaven, great Saints who have walked this Earth before me.  The rules, rituals, Sacraments, rites, Traditions, prayers and communion all add to my spirituality.  They add to my relationship with Christ.  If a person is religious and not spiritual, that means that they are missing the point.  They are missing the beauty and depth of all of those symbols, signs and mysteries.  There is nothing routine about the Catholic Church.  There is nothing small or boring.  Nothing.  

My religion teaches me that there is such a thing as objective Truth.  My religion teaches me that I should behave according to certain rules.  My religion teaches me that authority is good (so long as that authority is one of love).  My religion teaches me to attend Mass on Sundays.  My religion teaches me that my faith is public.  But my religion also teaches me to have a deep, private, interior spirituality.  To be honest, I don't know what's wrong with any one of those things.  What's wrong with attending Mass?  What's wrong with loving authority figures?  What's wrong with objective Truth?  As far as I can see, nothing!

I get really sad when I see people post memes, bumper stickers, etc., that say things like, “God wants spiritual fruit, not religious nuts,” "Religion is for people who are going to hell.  Spirituality is for people who have already been there,” or when religious people make snarky comments about how some people pick-and-choose their religion based off of what’s comfortable.  Doesn’t your religion call you to be more than sarcastic?  Doesn’t it teach you to be kind?  Gentle?  Loving?  I’m not saying that you shouldn’t call people out, but I am saying that you should do it in a more loving way.  Without rudeness.  You should do it while protecting the dignity of those you’re helping.  Willa Wonka memes aren’t exactly the way to go.  

As I already said, there are problems in institutionalized religion today.  The Church is holy, but her people don't always do holy things.  And, while I don’t know about every religion in existence, I can tell you that the Catholic Church does not teach or encourage those things.  The Church does not promote hypocrisy.  The Church does not promote greed.  Those things are sinful and harmful.  Just because they exist doesn’t mean that they are good.  Or desired.

I encourage those of you who consider yourself to be either spiritual or religious to do me a favor and look up a Saint named St. Theresa of Avila.  Read some of her work, even if you don't fully understand it (I don't think that anyone FULLY understands it!).  Keep in mind that she was extremely religious and spiritual.  She had the rules, the tradition, all of it.  And yet, she had a spirituality like none even today.  When you read her work and learn about her life, you will see that she did suffer greatly.  But it was the Church and its structure that led her to a deep and profound spiritual life.

I can hear the voices of some saying that I'm all wrong.  I know that's what you think.  And I don't expect that this piece has done anything to change your mind about whether or not you should be spiritual, religious, or both.  What I do hope that this piece does, though, is challenge you to at least, if nothing else, stop hating one another.  This meanness that goes on between the two sides is horrible, unnecessary, and unhelpful. Try seeing what the other side has to offer before calling names, or acting like you're better than the other.  Talk to those who truly understand.  Both are good.  Both are important.  And both work together.

Someone Else's Story - Martin Luther King, Jr.

Today we celebrate the birthday and the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  I'm not going to say much.  You all know who he is.  But I wanted to highlight a speech that he gave, just before he died.  This was the last speech that he ever delivered, almost as if he knew that he was going to die.  Maybe he did.  But what is important is the correlation to the story of Moses.  It was recently pointed out to me the ways that he and Moses were alike.  It is eerie how Martin Luther King, Jr. chose to compare this time in history to the end of Moses' life.  Moses, who had led the people so far for so long, didn't ever get to make it into the Promised Land.  And yet, he got to stand on the mountaintop, just before the Israelites entered, and see it.  Martin Luther King, Jr. didn't get to enter his promised land either, but he saw it.  And I believe whole heartedly that, if he had a chance to come back and do it all over again, but live, that he'd take that chance.  Because a life of oppression is not a life at all.

Here is his speech.  Please read the whole thing.  It's a sad speech, and hopeful at the same time.  

I've Been to the Mountaintop

Thank you very kindly, my friends. As I listened to Ralph Abernathy in his eloquent and generous introduction and then thought about myself, I wondered who he was talking about. It's always good to have your closest friend and associate say something good about you. And Ralph is the best friend that I have in the world.

I'm delighted to see each of you here tonight in spite of a storm warning. You reveal that you are determined to go on anyhow. Something is happening in Memphis, something is happening in our world.

As you know, if I were standing at the beginning of time, with the possibility of general and panoramic view of the whole human history up to now, and the Almighty said to me, "Martin Luther King, which age would you like to live in?" — I would take my mental flight by Egypt through, or rather across the Red Sea, through the wilderness on toward the promised land. And in spite of its magnificence, I wouldn't stop there. I would move on by Greece, and take my mind to Mount Olympus. And I would see Plato, Aristotle, Socrates, Euripides and Aristophanes assembled around the Parthenon as they discussed the great and eternal issues of reality.

But I wouldn't stop there. I would go on, even to the great heyday of the Roman Empire. And I would see developments around there, through various emperors and leaders. But I wouldn't stop there. I would even come up to the day of the Renaissance, and get a quick picture of all that the Renaissance did for the cultural and esthetic life of man. But I wouldn't stop there. I would even go by the way that the man for whom I'm named had his habitat. And I would watch Martin Luther as he tacked his ninety-five theses on the door at the church in Wittenberg.

But I wouldn't stop there. I would come on up even to 1863, and watch a vacillating president by the name of Abraham Lincoln finally come to the conclusion that he had to sign the Emancipation Proclamation. But I wouldn't stop there. I would even come up to the early thirties, and see a man grappling with the problems of the bankruptcy of his nation. And come with an eloquent cry that we have nothing to fear but fear itself.
But I wouldn't stop there. Strangely enough, I would turn to the Almighty, and say, "If you allow me to live just a few years in the second half of the twentieth century, I will be happy." Now that's a strange statement to make, because the world is all messed up. The nation is sick. Trouble is in the land. Confusion all around. That's a strange statement. But I know, somehow, that only when it is dark enough, can you see the stars. And I see God working in this period of the twentieth century in a away that men, in some strange way, are responding — something is happening in our world. The masses of people are rising up. And wherever they are assembled today, whether they are in Johannesburg, South Africa; Nairobi, Kenya; Accra, Ghana; New York City; Atlanta, Georgia; Jackson, Mississippi; or Memphis, Tennessee — the cry is always the same — "We want to be free."

And another reason that I'm happy to live in this period is that we have been forced to a point where we're going to have to grapple with the problems that men have been trying to grapple with through history, but the demand didn't force them to do it. Survival demands that we grapple with them. Men, for years now, have been talking about war and peace. But now, no longer can they just talk about it. It is no longer a choice between violence and nonviolence in this world; it's nonviolence or nonexistence.

That is where we are today. And also in the human rights revolution, if something isn't done, and in a hurry, to bring the colored peoples of the world out of their long years of poverty, their long years of hurt and neglect, the whole world is doomed. Now, I'm just happy that God has allowed me to live in this period, to see what is unfolding. And I'm happy that He's allowed me to be in Memphis.

I can remember, I can remember when Negroes were just going around as Ralph has said, so often, scratching where they didn't itch, and laughing when they were not tickled. But that day is all over. We mean business now, and we are determined to gain our rightful place in God's world.

And that's all this whole thing is about. We aren't engaged in any negative protest and in any negative arguments with anybody. We are saying that we are determined to be men. We are determined to be people. We are saying that we are God's children. And that we don't have to live like we are forced to live.

Now, what does all of this mean in this great period of history? It means that we've got to stay together. We've got to stay together and maintain unity. You know, whenever Pharaoh wanted to prolong the period of slavery in Egypt, he had a favorite, favorite formula for doing it. What was that? He kept the slaves fighting among themselves. But whenever the slaves get together, something happens in Pharaoh's court, and he cannot hold the slaves in slavery. When the slaves get together, that's the beginning of getting out of slavery. Now let us maintain unity.

Secondly, let us keep the issues where they are. The issue is injustice. The issue is the refusal of Memphis to be fair and honest in its dealings with its public servants, who happen to be sanitation workers. Now, we've got to keep attention on that. That's always the problem with a little violence. You know what happened the other day, and the press dealt only with the window-breaking. I read the articles. They very seldom got around to mentioning the fact that one thousand, three hundred sanitation workers were on strike, and that Memphis is not being fair to them, and that Mayor Loeb is in dire need of a doctor. They didn't get around to that.

Now we're going to march again, and we've got to march again, in order to put the issue where it is supposed to be. And force everybody to see that there are thirteen hundred of God's children here suffering, sometimes going hungry, going through dark and dreary nights wondering how this thing is going to come out. That's the issue. And we've got to say to the nation: we know it's coming out. For when people get caught up with that which is right and they are willing to sacrifice for it, there is no stopping point short of victory.

We aren't going to let any mace stop us. We are masters in our nonviolent movement in disarming police forces; they don't know what to do, I've seen them so often. I remember in Birmingham, Alabama, when we were in that majestic struggle there we would move out of the 16th Street Baptist Church day after day; by the hundreds we would move out. And Bull Connor would tell them to send the dogs forth and they did come; but we just went before the dogs singing, "Ain't gonna let nobody turn me round." Bull Connor next would say, "Turn the fire hoses on." And as I said to you the other night, Bull Connor didn't know history. He knew a kind of physics that somehow didn't relate to the transphysics that we knew about. And that was the fact that there was a certain kind of fire that no water could put out. And we went before the fire hoses; we had known water. If we were Baptist or some other denomination, we had been immersed. If we were Methodist, and some others, we had been sprinkled, but we knew water.

That couldn't stop us. And we just went on before the dogs and we would look at them; and we'd go on before the water hoses and we would look at it, and we'd just go on singing "Over my head I see freedom in the air." And then we would be thrown in the paddy wagons, and sometimes we were stacked in there like sardines in a can. And they would throw us in, and old Bull would say, "Take them off," and they did; and we would just go in the paddy wagon singing, "We Shall Overcome." And every now and then we'd get in the jail, and we'd see the jailers looking through the windows being moved by our prayers, and being moved by our words and our songs. And there was a power there which Bull Connor couldn't adjust to; and so we ended up transforming Bull into a steer, and we won our struggle in Birmingham.

Now we've got to go on to Memphis just like that. I call upon you to be with us Monday. Now about injunctions: We have an injunction and we're going into court tomorrow morning to fight this illegal, unconstitutional injunction. All we say to America is, "Be true to what you said on paper." If I lived in China or even Russia, or any totalitarian country, maybe I could understand the denial of certain basic First Amendment privileges, because they hadn't committed themselves to that over there. But somewhere I read of the freedom of assembly. Somewhere I read of the freedom of speech. Somewhere I read of the freedom of the press. Somewhere I read that the greatness of America is the right to protest for right. And so just as I say, we aren't going to let any injunction turn us around. We are going on.

We need all of you. And you know what's beautiful tome, is to see all of these ministers of the Gospel. It's a marvelous picture. Who is it that is supposed to articulate the longings and aspirations of the people more than the preacher? Somehow the preacher must be an Amos, and say, "Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream." Somehow, the preacher must say with Jesus, "The spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to deal with the problems of the poor."

And I want to commend the preachers, under the leadership of these noble men: James Lawson, one who has been in this struggle for many years; he's been to jail for struggling; but he's still going on, fighting for the rights of his people. Rev. Ralph Jackson, Billy Kiles; I could just go right on down the list, but time will not permit. But I want to thank them all. And I want you to thank them, because so often, preachers aren't concerned about anything but themselves. And I'm always happy to see a relevant ministry.

It's all right to talk about "long white robes over yonder," in all of its symbolism. But ultimately people want some suits and dresses and shoes to wear down here. It's all right to talk about "streets flowing with milk and honey," but God has commanded us to be concerned about the slums down here, and his children who can't eat three square meals a day. It's all right to talk about the new Jerusalem, but one day, God's preachers must talk about the New York, the new Atlanta, the new Philadelphia, the new Los Angeles, the new Memphis, Tennessee. This is what we have to do.

Now the other thing we'll have to do is this: Always anchor our external direct action with the power of economic withdrawal. Now, we are poor people, individually, we are poor when you compare us with white society in America. We are poor. Never stop and forget that collectively, that means all of us together, collectively we are richer than all the nations in the world, with the exception of nine. Did you ever think about that? After you leave the United States, Soviet Russia, Great Britain, West Germany, France, and I could name the others, the Negro collectively is richer than most nations of the world. We have an annual income of more than thirty billion dollars a year, which is more than all of the exports of the United States, and more than the national budget of Canada. Did you know that? That's power right there, if we know how to pool it.

We don't have to argue with anybody. We don't have to curse and go around acting bad with our words. We don't need any bricks and bottles, we don't need any Molotov cocktails, we just need to go around to these stores, and to these massive industries in our country, and say, "God sent us by here, to say to you that you're not treating his children right. And we've come by here to ask you to make the first item on your agenda fair treatment, where God's children are concerned. Now, if you are not prepared to do that, we do have an agenda that we must follow. And our agenda calls for withdrawing economic support from you."
And so, as a result of this, we are asking you tonight, to go out and tell your neighbors not to buy Coca-Cola in Memphis. Go by and tell them not to buy Sealtest milk. Tell them not to buy—what is the other bread?—Wonder Bread. And what is the other bread company, Jesse? Tell them not to buy Hart's bread. As Jesse Jackson has said, up to now, only the garbage men have been feeling pain; now we must kind of redistribute the pain. We are choosing these companies because they haven't been fair in their hiring policies; and we are choosing them because they can begin the process of saying, they are going to support the needs and the rights of these men who are on strike. And then they can move on downtown and tell Mayor Loeb to do what is right.

But not only that, we've got to strengthen black institutions. I call upon you to take your money out of the banks downtown and deposit your money in Tri-State Bank—we want a "bank-in" movement in Memphis. So go by the savings and loan association. I'm not asking you something we don't do ourselves at SCLC. Judge Hooks and others will tell you that we have an account here in the savings and loan association from the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. We're just telling you to follow what we're doing. Put your money there. You have six or seven black insurance companies in Memphis. Take out your insurance there. We want to have an "insurance-in."

Now these are some practical things we can do. We begin the process of building a greater economic base. And at the same time, we are putting pressure where it really hurts. I ask you to follow through here.
Now, let me say as I move to my conclusion that we've got to give ourselves to this struggle until the end. Nothing would be more tragic than to stop at this point, in Memphis. We've got to see it through. And when we have our march, you need to be there. Be concerned about your brother. You may not be on strike. But either we go up together, or we go down together.

Let us develop a kind of dangerous unselfishness. One day a man came to Jesus; and he wanted to raise some questions about some vital matters in life. At points, he wanted to trick Jesus, and show him that he knew a little more than Jesus knew, and through this, throw him off base. Now that question could have easily ended up in a philosophical and theological debate. But Jesus immediately pulled that question from mid-air, and placed it on a dangerous curve between Jerusalem and Jericho. And he talked about a certain man, who fell among thieves. You remember that a Levite and a priest passed by on the other side. They didn't stop to help him. And finally a man of another race came by. He got down from his beast, decided not to be compassionate by proxy. But with him, administering first aid, and helped the man in need. Jesus ended up saying, this was the good man, this was the great man, because he had the capacity to project the "I" into the "thou," and to be concerned about his brother. Now you know, we use our imagination a great deal to try to determine why the priest and the Levite didn't stop. At times we say they were busy going to church meetings—an ecclesiastical gathering—and they had to get on down to Jerusalem so they wouldn't be late for their meeting. At other times we would speculate that there was a religious law that "One who was engaged in religious ceremonials was not to touch a human body twenty-four hours before the ceremony." And every now and then we begin to wonder whether maybe they were not going down to Jerusalem, or down to Jericho, rather to organize a "Jericho Road Improvement Association." That's a possibility. Maybe they felt that it was better to deal with the problem from the causal root, rather than to get bogged down with an individual effort.

But I'm going to tell you what my imagination tells me. It's possible that these men were afraid. You see, the Jericho road is a dangerous road. I remember when Mrs. King and I were first in Jerusalem. We rented a car and drove from Jerusalem down to Jericho. And as soon as we got on that road, I said to my wife, "I can see why Jesus used this as a setting for his parable." It's a winding, meandering road. It's really conducive for ambushing. You start out in Jerusalem, which is about 1200 miles, or rather 1200 feet above sea level. And by the time you get down to Jericho, fifteen or twenty minutes later, you're about 2200 feet below sea level. That's a dangerous road. In the days of Jesus it came to be known as the "Bloody Pass." And you know, it's possible that the priest and the Levite looked over that man on the ground and wondered if the robbers were still around. Or it's possible that they felt that the man on the ground was merely faking. And he was acting like he had been robbed and hurt, in order to seize them over there, lure them there for quick and easy seizure. And so the first question that the Levite asked was, "If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?" But then the Good Samaritan came by. And he reversed the question: "If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?"

That's the question before you tonight. Not, "If I stop to help the sanitation workers, what will happen to all of the hours that I usually spend in my office every day and every week as a pastor?" The question is not, "If I stop to help this man in need, what will happen to me?" "If I do not stop to help the sanitation workers, what will happen to them?" That's the question.

Let us rise up tonight with a greater readiness. Let us stand with a greater determination. And let us move on in these powerful days, these days of challenge to make America what it ought to be. We have an opportunity to make America a better nation. And I want to thank God, once more, for allowing me to be here with you.

You know, several years ago, I was in New York City autographing the first book that I had written. And while sitting there autographing books, a demented black woman came up. The only question I heard from her was, "Are you Martin Luther King?"

And I was looking down writing, and I said yes. And the next minute I felt something beating on my chest. Before I knew it I had been stabbed by this demented woman. I was rushed to Harlem Hospital. It was a dark Saturday afternoon. And that blade had gone through, and the X-rays revealed that the tip of the blade was on the edge of my aorta, the main artery. And once that's punctured, you drown in your own blood—that's the end of you.

It came out in the New York Times the next morning, that if I had sneezed, I would have died. Well, about four days later, they allowed me, after the operation, after my chest had been opened, and the blade had been taken out, to move around in the wheel chair in the hospital. They allowed me to read some of the mail that came in, and from all over the states, and the world, kind letters came in. I read a few, but one of them I will never forget. I had received one from the President and the Vice-President. I've forgotten what those telegrams said. I'd received a visit and a letter from the Governor of New York, but I've forgotten what the letter said. But there was another letter that came from a little girl, a young girl who was a student at the White Plains High School. And I looked at that letter, and I'll never forget it. It said simply, "Dear Dr. King: I am a ninth-grade student at the White Plains High School." She said, "While it should not matter, I would like to mention that I am a white girl. I read in the paper of your misfortune, and of your suffering. And I read that if you had sneezed, you would have died. And I'm simply writing you to say that I'm so happy that you didn't sneeze."

And I want to say tonight, I want to say that I am happy that I didn't sneeze. Because if I had sneezed, I wouldn't have been around here in 1960, when students all over the South started sitting-in at lunch counters. And I knew that as they were sitting in, they were really standing up for the best in the American dream. And taking the whole nation back to those great wells of democracy which were dug deep by the Founding Fathers in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. If I had sneezed, I wouldn't have been around in 1962, when Negroes in Albany, Georgia, decided to straighten their backs up. And whenever men and women straighten their backs up, they are going somewhere, because a man can't ride your back unless it is bent. If I had sneezed, I wouldn't have been here in 1963, when the black people of Birmingham, Alabama, aroused the conscience of this nation, and brought into being the Civil Rights Bill. If I had sneezed, I wouldn't have had a chance later that year, in August, to try to tell America about a dream that I had had. If I had sneezed, I wouldn't have been down in Selma, Alabama, been in Memphis to see the community rally around those brothers and sisters who are suffering. I'm so happy that I didn't sneeze.

And they were telling me, now it doesn't matter now. It really doesn't matter what happens now. I left Atlanta this morning, and as we got started on the plane, there were six of us, the pilot said over the public address system, "We are sorry for the delay, but we have Dr. Martin Luther King on the plane. And to be sure that all of the bags were checked, and to be sure that nothing would be wrong with the plane, we had to check out everything carefully. And we've had the plane protected and guarded all night."

And then I got to Memphis. And some began to say the threats, or talk about the threats that were out. What would happen to me from some of our sick white brothers?

Well, I don't know what will happen now. We've got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn't matter with me now. Because I've been to the mountaintop. And I don't mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land. And I'm happy, tonight. I'm not worried about anything. I'm not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.