Justice

Today was my weekly meeting with one of our postulants for what Benedictines call lectio. In everyday, non-Latin terms it would be meditative reading. So, every week we meet for 1/2 hour and each month we have a different format. This month we chose to take a word and find a scripture quote about it and a non-scripture quote as well. I was first and I chose "justice." (Appropriate for the week, I thought.)

Here are the two quotes we used:
"Where justice is denied, where poverty is enforced, where ignorance prevails, and where any one class is made to feel that society is an organized conspiracy to oppress, rob and degrade them, neither persons nor property will be safe." Frederick Douglass

"Precious treasure and oil in the house of the wise,
but the fool consumes them.
Whoever pursues justice and kindness
will find life and honor.
The wise person storms the city of the mighty,
and overthrows the stronghold in which they trust."
Proverbs 21: 20-22

We had a great conversation about them, with an eye on both the daily news of late and on the philosophical expressions of both proverbs and of great men such as Douglass. There are so many really thought-provoking commentaries, columns and reflections around these days...on the pandemic and its long-range effects on the life of the world and, now, on so many systemic roots of societies/institutions. Long-standing, deeply entrenched, hard to confront, consider or change.