Oct 09 2025
Daniel Berrigan – Credentials
Credentials
by Daniel Berrigan
I would it were possible to state in so
few words my errand in the world: quite simply
forestalling all inquiry, the oak offers his leaves
largehandedly. And in winter his integral magnificent order
decrees, says solemnly who he is
in the great thrusting limbs that are all finally
one: a return, a permanent riverandsea.
So the rose is its own credential, a certain
unattainable effortless form: wearing its heart
visibly, it gives us heart too: bud, fullness and fall.
— from Daniel Berrigan: Essential Writings (Modern Spiritual Masters), by Daniel Berrigan / Edited by John Dear
/ Image by Proseuche /
I have featured this poem before, but I find myself reading it again on this chilly October morning.
In this poem we are given a couple of images to illustrate how we should understand ourselves and be in the world. In other words, what are our credentials? By what authority and quality do we come into the world and act in the world?
Like the oak tree, we should offer our leaves “largehandedly,” giving fully of ourselves and our very nature to the world. And, in winter, in bareness, the essential form that we are comes through. By not holding back our true nature, by being fully ourselves, even when when the world demands all of us, that is when we “return” and recognize that we are part of a grand, harmonious unity, “a permanent riverandsea.”
We are our own credentials. Our credentials, our spiritual stamp of approval, is there within us, in our most natural form. I hear in the words of this Catholic priest and activist the question, how do we properly embody our “errand in the world”? How do we make it so our actions are not mere pretense? How do we instead come to embody the spirit which comes into the world through us in such a way that there is no division between being and expression?
Like the rose, we must unfold, be as we are, allowing our innermost heart to become visible, to be seen, to let its beauty be present in the world, bringing healing to the world and to ourselves. Effortless. Full. Strong. Guileless. Self-sacrificing.
So the rose is its own credential, a certain
unattainable effortless form: wearing its heart
visibly, it gives us heart too: bud, fullness and fall.
Have a beautiful day, with a blossoming heart.
Recommended Books: Daniel Berrigan
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Daniel Berrigan |
If you’re not familiar with who Father Daniel Berrigan is, I highly recommend you look him up — you’ll find several excellent articles and past interviews. Daniel Berrigan was one of those great souls to whom we in the modern era owe so much, alongside other great spiritual figures like Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., Thich Nhat Hanh, and Dorothy Day, people who put their beliefs and their bodies on the line to transform society and awaken a wider compassion in the world. Father Berrigan was one of the early leaders in courageous protest against the Vietnam war and the draft. He worked throughout the Cold War against the proliferation and normalization of nuclear weapons.
He did that thing that makes us most uncomfortable about the Christian pathway: He actually lived it, not just in his head, but on the ground. He rolled up his sleeves and bared his chest as he embraced the poor, spoke up for the vulnerable, and opposed institutional cruelty and violence, done boldly, humbly, amidst the complexities of the modern world and dangers of modern power structures.
I continue to be inspired and challenged and humbled by Father Berrigan. His tireless work for peace and justice and humanity continues to reverberate and benefit us all.
And he was a poet…
Thank You, Ivan for this beautiful poem and mention of Daniel Berrigan. And the
Thought for the Day is so meaningful and actually I have it up on my refrigerator
from when you posted it before!