April 8, 2025

Dear Friends,

The Interfaith Peace Project continues its ongoing observance of International Women’s Day (March 8) and the International Day of Peace (September 21) by sending out reflections on the eighth and twenty-first of every month. On March 8, Fr. Tom started a ten part series on the Beloved Community. You will receive a section of the series on the eighth and twenty-first of each month through July 21, 2025. If you miss a part of the series, you can find it on our blog at interfaithpeaceproject.org. If you have anything that you would like to share, please contact:

Thomas P. Bonacci, C.P.
[email protected]
925-787-9279

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THE BELOVED COMMUNITY
PART 3
“BELOVED”
by Thomas P. Bonacci, C.P.

I urge you to answer the highest calling of your heart
and stand up for what you truly believe.

John Lewis

 

Dear Beloved Friends,

Interestingly, the word “beloved” reminds us to be people of love in the world, even in the midst of conflict and division. It is a word we use for others. “Beloved” is a word that invites us to probe the depth of what it means to be a human person fully committed to the well-being of others. We, ourselves, might have experienced that wondrous energy of being loved by another. Such an experience moves us to be in touch with our own capacity to love. We might even experience the world around us as “Beloved.”

The great spiritual Traditions often invite us to harness the power of love resting deep in our hearts. We do so for the sake of the world, its people, its beauty, its resources, and its creatures. The highest calling of any human person is to be a person who strives to see in others someone to call “Beloved.” Some Traditions teach that we human beings are the Beloved of God. 

We give thanks for those who strive to transcend their fears and prejudices of others. They have come to recognize the shared humanity we enjoy as human persons.  Our differences are the cause of inquiry, openness, and delight. Recall the important words of the Quran 49:13: “O humankind, indeed We have created you and made you peoples and tribes that you may know one another.”

Indeed, humanity forms but one family, and we need to live together as members of one household called “Earth” – our Common Home.

The capacity and willingness to love another person and embrace them as “Beloved” has the power to build the world our hearts know is possible. The Beloved Community emerges each and every time we give love a chance. At this present moment, we might ask, who are the “Beloved?”   

Call to mind the children kidnapped and deported from Ukraine to Russia. Are they not the Beloved?

Think of the suffering people of Gaza. Are they not the Beloved?

Recall all those assaulted, hurt, or killed by terrorists. Are they not the Beloved?

Call to mind the sick and starving children of the world. Are they not the Beloved?

Remember those who suffer great loss in the natural disasters that afflict the world. Are they not the Beloved?

Think of those who are persecuted because of who they love. Are they not the Beloved?

Think of those who have given of themselves in the cause of justice and peace.  Are they not the Beloved?

Love is more than an emotion or a strong feeling of desire. Ultimately, one who loves is willing to die for the sake of another. Think of any parent, friend, or dedicated person. The Beloved Community is rising even here, even now, in all those people like you who are willing to see in others someone to call “Beloved.”

Thanks to Desmond Cole, Executive Board Member,
who inspired these thoughts.