‘It is my hope that in a small way I have been able to contribute to peace through compassion and also to the recognition, as George Fox has said . . . “That there is that of God in everyone,” a conception of the sanctity of human life which precludes all wars and violence.’
Fritz Eichenberg, Quaker Illustrator (1901-1990)
‘The year of grace, 1654, Monday the 23rd of November, from about half past ten at night to about half an hour after midnight. Fire. God of Abraham, God of Isaac, God of Jacob. Not of philosophers and scholars. Certitude. Heartfelt joy. Peace. God of Jesus Christ. God of Jesus Christ. My God and Your God. Your God shall be my God. The world forgotten, everything except God. Joy. Joy. Joy. Jesus Christ. I am separated from Him for, I have shunned Him, denied Him, crucified Him. May I never be separated from Him. He can only be kept by the ways taught in the Gospel. Complete and sweet renunciation. Total submission to Jesus Christ and to my Director. Everlasting joy in return for one day's striving upon earth. I will not neglect Your Word.’
Blaise Pascal (1623-1662)
‘The sense of defeat is what we are fighting against. People must not just give in to the hardship of life. People must develop a hope. People must develop some form of security to be together to look at their problems, and people must, in this way, build up their humanity. This is the point about Black Consciousness.’
Stephen Biko (1946-1977), South African Martyr for Freedom
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‘At this time, when we need so much strength to regain and uphold our freedom, let us pray to God to fill us with the power of His Spirit, to reawaken the spirit of true solidarity in our hearts.’
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‘If I must die suddenly, it is surely better to meet death defending a
worthwhile cause than sitting back and letting injustice win.’
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‘In order to defeat evil with good, in order to preserve the dignity of man,
one must not use violence. It is the person who has failed to win on the
strength of his heart and his reason who tries to win by force . . . Let us pray
that we may be free from fear and intimidation, but above all from lust for
revenge and violence.’ (From his last homily, 19 October 1984, the day he was murdered).
Blessed Jerzy Popieluszko (1947-1984, beatified 6 June 2010 in Warsaw in the
presence of his mother, Marianna, aged 100), Priest and Martyr of Solidarity
Rafal Wieczynski directed the movie Popieluszko: Freedom is within us. Here he is interviewed and you can also see some footage from the film.
'Jerzy’ is the Polish form of ‘George’.