Prior to
meeting Father Berrigan in that class, I was not too familiar with his
work. I knew the Berrigan name as one
that was tossed around unkindly in many circles during my childhood, but I knew
very little else. I really did not know
what to expect when this thin, unassuming 72-year-old man walked into our
classroom and began to speak with gentleness and his own brand of enthusiasm
about the “minor” prophets.
During the
semester, I grew to know Daniel Berrigan, a man whose life so resembled the depth of
the Scriptures he imbibed, that it was easy to see Jesus in him. This man, who was often quoted as saying, “If
you want to follow Jesus, you better look good on wood,” was someone who had
first-hand knowledge of the cross of Jesus Christ and who was committed to
witnessing for peace “until the day after I’m embalmed.”
Each
Wednesday during that semester in 1993, he took the train from New York to
suburban Philadelphia and was met at the station by one of the graduate
assistants, who would bring him to campus for our evening class. At the end of the class, one of the graduate
assistants would take him back to the train station for his return trip. He kindly refused the university’s offer of
an apartment, because he did not want to miss too much of his ministry to
people with AIDS at St. Vincent’s Hospital in New York.
Being one of
the graduate assistants who shared this driving task, I got to know a bit about
Daniel Berrigan and his way of causing others to reflect deeply on their lives
rather than merely to cruise unconsciously through them. Three of these “life’s lessons” remain deeply
embedded in my heart today:
· Speak softly.
· Live consciously.
· Live with integrity.
Speak softly
One day when
we were approaching campus, we saw students wearing their ROTC uniforms. Very quietly, Father Berrigan said, “How do
you feel about studying theology in a university that trains officers for the
military?” I answered honestly, “I’ve
never really thought about it.” He
quietly answered, “Hmm. . . . Maybe you should.” Although he felt passionately about the
subject, he delivered these words without a hint of anger or antagonism.
Live consciously
Toward the
end of the semester, he asked what I was going to do with the rest of my life. I told him about my plan to apply to doctoral
programs. After a few seconds of
thought, he said, “Just be sure that you are doing it for the right reasons. I doubt that you’ll be fulfilled if you make
‘tenure track’ your goal.” In other
words, blindly doing what the “world” expected us to do with our lives was not
as important as following our prayerfully-informed heart.
Live with integrity
At the
beginning of the semester, he told us that he would not be giving us grades for
the class. He saw competition as
violence and he felt that, in giving grades to students, he would contribute to
the violence already rampant in our world.
So, at the end of the semester, he asked us to tell him what grade we
thought we deserved and why. While this
might seem like an invitation to an “easy A,” that was not the case. We students had to verify that our weekly
written assignments, oral presentations and intelligent participation warranted
the grade we were giving ourselves. Were
we, in truth, deserving of that grade?
This was not as much about a grade as it was about living lives of
justice and integrity.
I have only
seen Father Berrigan in person once or twice during the 23 years since my last
encounter with him at Villanova, but he continues to have a profound, long-lasting
influence on my life. Each time I make
the gentle, but uncompromising choice for peace, each time I consciously choose
to pay attention to an issue rather than tacitly accepting it, and each time I
maintain my integrity in difficult situations, I believe I pay tribute to the
Good News of Jesus Christ as witnessed to me by the life of Daniel Berrigan, my
teacher.- Sister Ann Marie Paul, SCC
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