Originally Published on OST.EDU

September 13 @ 9:30 AM – 11:30 AM

Recurring Event (See all) $40.00

Tuesdays, Sep 13 – Nov 1 | 9:30AM – 11:30AM Central Time | ONLINE EVENT VIA ZOOM

A Wish for a Better World
Compassion is in our best interest The Golden Rule asks us to look into our own hearts It lies at the heart of all religious, ethical and spiritual traditions Ensuring that all peoples are treated as we would wish to be treated So that all people can live together in mutual respect with concern for everybody…even our enemies

Cooperation is based on our own universal love It is the path to a just economy and a peaceful global community Religious systems have all nourished the shoots of compassion Neurons enable us to feel the pain of another as if it were our own Compassion means to endure something with another person To live with our own or another’s suffering with serenity, kindness and creativity…the choice is ours Transformation is slow, undramatic, incremental, one step at a time The effect will be cumulative…becoming part of our daily routine As we discover a realm of sacred peace within a life of compassion

– A cento poem based on the preface to Twelve Steps to a Compassionate Life by Karen Armstrong

Please join Mary Earle and Rosalyn Collier for “A Wish for a Better World” based on the book Twelve Steps to a Compassionate Life by Karen Armstrong. This world-renowned theologian believes that “religion is not about believing things, but about what we do in our life.” She was awarded the $100,000 TED Prize in February 2008 and used it to draw up a Charter for Compassion in the spirit of the Golden Rule. During the eight weeks we will explore concrete methods and creative practices to embody and nourish the Golden Rule in our own lives and in our fractured world.

To order Twelve Steps to a Compassionate Life by Karen Armstrong and receive a 10% discount, go to StMarksBookstore.com, click on Shop Our Website at the top of the page and then click on Oblate Continuing Education on the left hand side.  At checkout, add coupon code Oblate to receive a 10% discount. For further assistance, please contact Elizabeth Cauthorn at elizabeth@materialmedia.com. Please note: Shipping delays may occur. Please consider ordering your book early.

Class Dates

All classes will take place on Tuesday mornings, 9:30 am to 11:30 am Central Time, ONLINE via Zoom.

Portions of each class session will be recorded and made available to registered participants through November 15, 2022. Please note that periods of participants’ sharing in small and large group settings will not be recorded. In general, the following portions of each class session will be recorded: opening prayer, period of silence, body prayer, journaling period, and teaching period.

Session 1	September 13	Wish for a Better World
Session 2	September 20	Learn about Compassion
Session 3	September 27	Look at Your Own World / Compassion for Yourself
Session 4	October 4	Empathy / Mindfulness
Session 5	October 11	Action / How Little We Know
Session 6	October 18	How We Speak to One Another / Concern for Everyone
Session 7	October 25	Knowledge / Recognition
Session 8	November 1	Love Your Enemies / Compassionate Harvest

Facilitators

Rev. Mary C. Earle is an Episcopal priest, poet, author, spiritual director and retreat leader. Mary serves as faculty for the Forest Dweller program at Oblate School of Theology (www.ost.edu/forestdwelling). Until her retirement, she taught classes in spirituality for the Seminary of the Southwest in Austin, Texas. Mary has authored ten books; the subjects include the spirituality of living with illness, rule of life, Celtic Christian spirituality, the Desert Mothers, and Julian of Norwich. Her most recent book, Did You Sing Your Song?: Poems, won the Silver Ben Franklin Award from the Independent Publishers Association. Mary has offered presentations and retreats in a variety of ecumenical settings, including conferences of the Academy for Spiritual Formation, Spiritual Directors International, the International Thomas Merton Society and hospice organizations. She has written articles for a variety of journals, including Presence: the Journal of Spiritual Directors International, Radical Grace, Reflections, and The Lutheran. She was included in the Living Spiritual Teachers project of Spirituality and Practice. She and her husband Doug, also an Episcopal priest, have recently celebrated their 50th anniversary. Their son Jason teaches French literature at Sarah Lawrence College. Mary’s website is www.marycearle.com

Rosalyn Falcon Collier is co-founder of the San Antonio peaceCENTER, 1995 and founder and member of the Women on Pilgrimage Retreat at St Anthony de Padua since 1997. Rosalyn is an elder circle leader for the Forest Dweller Program at Oblate School of Theology (www.ost.edu/forestdwelling). A native San Antonian, she is a graduate of the Shalem Institute for Spiritual Formation in Washington, DC, 1990 and has led local meditation groups in Catholic parishes since 1997. Through OST Rosalyn recently co-facilitated the Called Back to the Well Spiritual Renewal Program 2009. She has been a co-facilitator for the People of Pilgrimage Contemplative Retreats. She is a spiritual director and mediator and facilitates skillshops on nonviolence and transformative mediation. Rosalyn and Jim have been married for 55 years, they have two children, 7 grandchildren and 3 great grandchildren.

Registration Fee: $40 (fee includes cost for entire 8-week series)

Please note: We will send you a Zoom link and login instructions via email approximately one week before the series begins.

For information or to register by phone, contact Associate Registrar, Victoria Rodriguez, at vrodriguez@ost.edu or (210) 341-1366 EXT 240.