​Love Is War’s Antidote

March 2026 Newsletter​​​​

 

Beloved Fellow Mystics,

​Love Is War’s Antidote

by Maggie Winfrey

 

War is here among us. The United States has plunged itself into another war in the Middle East. Without consulting with our allies, we have ensnared them in an untenable commitment. Ukraine still suffers with four years of Russian invasion. Pakistan, Afghanistan, Cambodia, Thailand, Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo as well as other countries writhe under violent conflict. 

 

The United States government has also turned against its own people simply because they have a different skin color or speak another language, using their lack of documentation as an excuse to purge them. They are the strength of our economy because they do the dirty jobs most of us won’t. Yet they are not recognized for their value. Where is this hatred of others coming from?

 

Thomas Merton wrote in New Seeds of Contemplation (1962) “The root of war is fear.” He explains: "At the root of all war is fear: not so much the fear people have of one another as the fear they have of everything. It is not merely that they do not trust one another; they do not even trust themselves. … It is not only our hatred of others that is dangerous but also and above all our hatred of ourselves: particularly that hatred of ourselves which is too deep and too powerful to be consciously faced. For it is this which makes us see our own evil in others and unable to see it in ourselves." 

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When we reject and distrust ourselves and others, we forget the basic human principle of Love, the antidote that saves us. We see this principle in action in Greg Boyle’s Homeboy Industries. They base everything they do on two beliefs: Everyone is unshakeably good.

Everyone belongs. 

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Do we believe that everyone is good? Do we believe that we ourselves are unshakeably good? After all, when God created everything, God saw all that God had made, and it was very good..” (Genesis 1:31) Everything begins with our recognizing this True Reality within ourselves. Then we see it in everyone else and pass it on. 

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These truths of Goodness are not learned by intellectual endeavor. We learn them when we go deep in the prayer of the heart: contemplative prayer. There, in our center, where God lives and breathes life into our very true self, we know Love experientially, as we consent to God’s loving presence and action within us. 

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Encountering Love in our center dispels all fear. If the basis of war, that is fear, is gone, we have nothing to be afraid of. Then we know we are unshakeably good. Then we see others in their unshakeable goodness as cherished Friends. Then we reach out and connect to each other as beloved ones. When we find our Creator’s Goodness and Love within, we know the immense gift that it is, and we can pass it on. So let’s double down in our practice and create peace among us that will only grow to the ends of the earth.

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This is how we strike at the very root and eliminate the causes of war, hatred, and aggression with this Truth, which is Love. 

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You, dear children, are from God and have overcome the world,

because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the

world. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.

God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. This

is how love is made complete among us. There is no fear in love. But

perfect love drives out fear.       1 John 4:4,7,17,18

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Join us for our next free True Happiness Big Sit on Saturday, April 18th, from 10 am to noon ET. We will encounter the way Centering Prayer helps us disable the false programs of happiness of Power, Possessions, Prestige, and Pleasure as we center together on Zoom for two hours with songs, Taizé, Lectio Divina, two Centering Prayer sessions, and an inspiring story. To get the link and resources we will use, email us here.

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Several other great opportunities are available from our Contemplative Friends: It’s Fr. Thomas Keating’s’ 103rd birthday! Contemplative Outreach Ltd. invites us to celebrate together on March 6-7, 2026 for the free 34th Annual United in Prayer Day on Zoom.  Every year Contemplative Outreach honors him with a 24-hour, global Day of Prayer. Centering Prayer groups from around the world host an hour of prayer on Zoom. Join for an hour or more. Schedule and Zoom link here.

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The Center for Action and Contemplation is presenting How Do We Find Hope in Hard Times? with Carmen Acevedo Butcher and Cole Arthur Riley, 10:00-11:30 a.m. Pacific Time (1 - 3:30 pm ET), Friday March 13th on Zoom. Information and registration here.

 

Closer than Breath is presenting 3 programs on Zoom on 2nd Saturdays in March, April, and May: Held in Love: A Contemplative Journey into Consent, Belonging, and Communion. Details here.

     March 14 - Welcoming What Is: Centering Prayer, Consent, and the "Grease Spot"​ with Mary Dwyer & Logan Jones

     April 11 - From Apartness to Belonging: Held in Love​
with Nhien Vuong

     May 9 - The Divine Feminine in Contemplative Spirituality​
​with Marybeth Redmond

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Looking forward to praying and being with you soon on Zoom.

Blessings of Love and Peace,

Maggie Winfrey

 

​We drink from the stream by the wayside right here; therefore, we lift up our head.​ Psalm 110

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Let us know your thoughts.

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