Robert Sargent Shriver, 1915–2011
Today, a young friend forwarded me this appreciation of Sargent Shriver—Kennedy brother-in-law, social activist, Catholic. The piece is written by Bono, front man of U2.
My discerning friend highlighted this moving excerpt:
He and his beautiful bride, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, would go to Mass every day — as much an act of rebellion against brutal modernity as it was an act of worship. Love, yes, but love as a brave act, a bold act, requiring toughness and sacrifice.
His faith demanded action, from him, from all of us. For the Word to become flesh, we had to become the eyes, the ears, the hands of a just God. Injustice could, in the words of the old spiritual, “Be Overcome.” Robert Sargent sang, “Make me a channel of your peace,” and became the song.
