MSI Press Blog

  Compassion is one of those words we toss around as if everyone means the same thing by it. But real compassion—the kind that changes relationships, softens hardened places, and restores dignity—has nothing to do with pity and nothing to do with superiority. Compassion is mercy without arrogance. It is humble. We often imagine compassion as something we give from a position of strength to someone in a position of weakness. But that framing already distorts the truth. The moment compassion becomes a performance of benevolence, it stops being compassion and becomes condescension dressed in soft language. True compassion begins with the recognition that we are not separate from the person in front of us. Their suffering is not an object lesson. Their struggle is not a stage on which we get to act out our virtue. Compassion is not a spotlight; it’s a lowering of oneself to meet another at eye level. Humility is the safeguard. Humility keeps compassion honest. Humility says: I...

  The U.S. Constitution is often hailed as a beacon of liberty—a document that protects individual rights and limits government overreach. But in times of social unrest or political polarization, its language can be twisted into something it was never meant to be: a weapon. Extremist movements, both past and present, have invoked constitutional phrases to justify actions that undermine democracy itself. They quote selectively, interpret rigidly, and ignore the document’s deeper purpose: balance. ⚖️ Built for Tension, Not Absolutism The Constitution wasn’t designed to offer easy answers. It’s a framework built on tension: Federal vs. state power Individual rights vs. collective responsibility Freedom vs. order This tension is intentional. It forces debate, compromise, and evolution. Extremist readings often flatten this complexity—claiming absolute rights without acknowledging the responsibilities or limits that come with them. For example: The First Amendment protects sp...

  Today's book excerpt comes from  An Afternoon's Dictation  by  Steven Greenebaum . This book has been in the Amazon top 100 among interfaith and ecumenical books on many occasions. PART ONE: THE CALL TO INTERFAITH CHAPTER FOUR   The call of Interfaith in no way rejects religion. It is a call to realize that our spiritual traditions are living, breathing entities that change over time, as does all of life. Still, “Seek truth in the commonality of religions, which are but the languages of speaking to Me. Worship not the grammar” took some living with. I began to imagine a sacred mountain for humanity. At the mountaintop dwelt the call of the sacred, the commonality that would hold the truths to living a meaningful life to which all of our sacred traditions seek to point us. Our differing spiritual traditions would be diverse paths up this sacred mountain that our differing eras and cultures had found helpful. The “grammar,” then, is the particular ritual and...