John Dear speaks to us on the life and teachings of the monk Thomas Merton. John tells of Merton’s past that was radically different from his life as a Trappist monk where he spent years in contemplative prayer. He wrote that we should first find unity within ourselves rather than trying to force unity on others. John tells of one essay wherein Merton states, “I believe that the problem of solving international conflict without massive violence has become the number one problem of our time.” John goes on to speak to how we are now living in a global pandemic of violence and war.

The Peace Podcast is available on our website here. There you can also find the previous episodes where John discusses Jesus’s campaign of nonviolence, the nonviolent sermon on the mount, Psalms of Peace, Martin Luther King, Gandhi, and more. The podcast is also available on iTunes where you can subscribe and listen as soon as it’s released. If you enjoy this new Peace Podcast, please share it with others to continue to build a mainstream culture of nonviolence.