Resistance to Empire

The Art of Daily Life

Sr. Ardeth Platte, OP: Canner Extraordinaire

Peaches, pickles, pears, tomatoes, salsa, plums. Canned. The goodness of food, grown in our watershed, food that was never a commodity. Food from a garden, fertilized, planted, grown, watered, weeded, harvested and preserved with love. Fruit from trees planted, pruned, thinned, rethinned, and picked with love.

The world will be saved by beauty, Dostoevsky reminds us.
The garden, the trees, the orchard--food for our eyes.

Mindful of daily life, of love, of compassion for all living things, we remember that we are living in the most aggressive, criminal, warmaking empire that has ever existed. We are full of repentance, yet full of gratitude. Gratitude for time in prison, for time out of prison: for manual labor; for time to reflect: for time in community, for time alone and with family. Gratitude for the gift of eating fresh fruit from a tree. Gratitude for being able to share with neighbors.

And still we remember those suffering on hunger strike in Guantanamo. Tears and joy, together in our hearts.