Spirituality for Peace and Justice
Book on Christian Spirituality
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This is a very important book for our time for it does not surrender to the dominant intellectual forces of our era such as materialism, agnosticism, and atheism as it probes deep into the various layers of the human, and discovers there the reason to struggle to be authentically human in spite of the rampant inhumanity of our time as witnessed by the greed of the high and the mighty, of wanton terrorism of radical Islamists, of the incessant march of the industrial military complex for more power and wealth that inevitably leads to destruction of all forms of life, property that leads to ecological disaster. I have been Elizabeth Padillo Olesen up close and personal when she was only 16, and was being attacked by breast cancer. As she was groaning in pain and wilting physically, she started scribling little poetic notes courageously looking at death in the face. At that time, her poetry was raw, unschooled and innocent of literary theories of ‘how’ poems mean, but they were honest, tender, and very human. Elizabeth is a ‘natural’ poet’ who writes not to promote any school of poetry, though there are traces of romanticism, realism and existentialism strewn here and there, but she writes as a person moulded in the dark and deathly anvils of the Christian cross and the explosive majesty of the resurrection. So her poetry does not shirk from the dark and seemingly absolute power of evil, and her affirmations of life and beauty are a courageous struggle and triumph against it. And one comes away from it with a deep sense of one’s own humanity and a keen awareness of the presence of divinity in one’s own self and in the whole of reality. Elizabeth’s poetry is a triumph of the human spirit under the aegis of the divine spirit against every expression of inhumanity and evil in our time. She is a joy to read. Dr. Levi Oracion, USA.
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About the Book
Book on Christian Spirituality This is a book of poems on Christian spirituality as response to personal crises in life, woes and struggles of women, natural calamities, violence and terror. This book expresses poetic sensitivity to some events in our history that reflect conflicts in culture, religion and ideologies. This is spirituality from the eyes of faith, attempting to read the signs of our time in the light of the source of love and life that has called us to be responsible stewards as we commit ourselves to acts of love, compassion, peace and justice. These poems were written during my time as a student, teacher, pastor, ecumenical and community worker in the Philippines, as a missionary in Nepal, teacher, wife, mother, and as a cultural worker in Denmark, stretching a period of more than twenty years. I offer this book of poems to those who seek life, to those who despair, and to those who want to be inspired. Christian spirituality is in the human heart in its encounter with the wounded and resurrected Christ. In celebrating beauty and human creativity, I have illustrated some poems with my own paintings done during my integration process as a foreigner in Denmark. (EPO)
About the Author
Elizabeth originally comes from the Philippines, graduated Cum Laude from the combined degree program of Silliman University, Dumaguete City, Philippines as a teacher and pastor. She served as High School teacher and as pastor of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines while carrying out relief and rehabilitation work for the typhoon-stricken fishing islands. With support from the World Council of Churches in Geneva, she had the chance to take up ecumenical studies at Bossey Ecumenical Institute, also getting exposures to some sponsoring non-government organizations in Europe, engaged in Philippine rehabilitation-development work. She joined her Danish husband, Jens Christian Olesen, in mission-development work under the United Mission to Nepal as sent out by the former Danish Santal Mission in Denmark, which at present is called Dan Mission. Within 5 years in Nepal, she carried out literacy program for Nepali women and taught English at Butwal Campus, Tribhuvan University. The family was stationed in the Philippines from 1991 to 1995 where Elizabeth served as consultant to the Central Visayas Ecumenical Fellowship of the National Council of Churches in the Philippines. In 1995 her family moved to Denmark. Willing to be integrated into the new country, she took up teacher’s education in Danish language, and later was employed as a public school teacher for 8 years, teaching subjects like music, religious studies, history, art, and Danish as second language. In 2010 she took up the job as cross-cultural worker in Kolding Deanery, a church entity which consists of 31 local churches with the common project for foreigners, refugees and immigrants. Elizabeth was diagnosed as cancer patient by the time she took up the recent job and declared healthy after a battle of treatment. She continues to work for the life of the church. She hopes that church’s work for strangers will contribute to the common task of building peace and justice in our world. During free time, she writes poems and paints images of love, joy,faith and hope.