From Father Bryan Massingale, STD, Professor, James and Nancy Buckman Chair in Applied Christian Ethics at Fordham University, a presentation given at a recent Ignatian (Jesuit) Teach In. (Used with permission):
Regardless of how the election goes, the work of justice will and must go on. Our work, our cause, our passion for justice — which is also the passion of Christ — will not go away. No matter who wins: the hungry will need to be fed; the homeless will need shelter; immigrants will need protection; and those considered strangers among us — no matter who they love or whatever their race, gender identity or expression — will need welcome and embrace. We are needed. No matter what happens. Because justice work, healing the earth, and making the world more fair for all is a relay race. Not a sprint. Not a marathon. But a relay race. And we are supported by a “cloud of witnesses” who have gone before us and who will come after us. What we call, “the communion of saints.”
This is how I end, with the cloud that goes by the name of the “saintly six.” (There are 11 American saints. Not one of them is Black). They lived in precarious and difficult times. They were born in enslavement and segregated America. They were never meant to be “successful.” And they worked against the odds and in the face of tremendous opposition. Racial insults, humiliation and exclusion. And gender violations too. And from their church, bishops, priests, sisters, and fellow Catholics. So-called “Christians.” What they did was risky. And they suffered. Heartache and heartbreak. And bitter disappointment. Yet they persevered. They creates new organizations. They made themselves welcome. And educated. And healed. And taught. And advocated. Spoke truth to power. And made us all better. They give me hope. And I pray to them, everyday. Because they know our country. And what we are up against. And they assure me that we are not alone. And that we have Divine help for the work we do. And that gives me hope. And the courage to live in possibilities. And to dream.
