Tomorrow is Blog Action Day 2008 on Poverty. A Nun’s Life will be hosting a book discussion using Jon Sobrino’s book No Salvation Outside the Poor (Orbis 2008) as a springboard. It is not necessary to have read the book, but for those of us who have, please bring in your ideas, questions and thoughts.

Many of the thoughts in Sobrino’s book are based on the words of Ignacio Ellacuría, a Roman Catholic Jesuit priest who was also a theologian and philosopher who contributed to the work of Liberation Theology. He was martyred in El Salvador in 1989. Sobrino says in the prologue to the book that his reflection is based on the words of Ellacuría in a speech given in Barcelona 10 days before his assassination:

“This civilization is gravely ill–sick unto death, as Jean Ziegler says; to avoid an ominous, fatal outcome, the civilization must be changed.” With absolute and radical clarity Ellacuría added, “We have to turn history around, subvert it, and send it in a new direction.” (page ix)

I’d like us to think on this quote a bit and also consider the title of the book itself — “no salvation outside the poor” — and what it means to you personally. I’ll also post a few other compelling quotes from the book as we go through the day. Please let me know if there are specific questions that you would like us to consider. There are no “experts” checking in, just you, me and the rest of the A Nun’s Life community to reflect on and ponder these questions. As always I welcome your thoughts.

Blogs across the World Wide Web will be writing about poverty tomorrow. Be sure to check them out for other lenses through which to view the issue of poverty. My hope is to offer a faith-inspired lens through which to look at not just poverty abstractly but to stand with our sisters and brothers who are poor.

Let us dare to dream that we can do something to eradicate poverty and to love and support all people.

In honor of Blog Action Day 2008: Poverty, A Nun’s Life will be having a discussion on poverty on Wednesday, October 15, 2008. We will be using Jon Sobrino’s book No Salvation Outside the Poor (Orbis 2008) as a springboard (click below to order from Amazon).

No Salvation Outside the Poor

While the book is not necessary to be part of the day’s conversation, it’s a good opportunity to read something new and to get deeper into what poverty is and how the Gospels call us to respond. It’s a short book (147 pages) comprised of 6 essays.

Get your copy and start reading. I’ll post more as we get closer to October 15.