Today I write before heading out soon to take my daughter to her first horror movie. It will also be my first one (in a movie theater)….I’m chalking it up to making the most of connecting with my youngest. I realize more and more that it’s best for me to seize the opportunity for connection whenever it presents itself. God is good.
I have been traveling all over the country in the recent months, and I have just two trips left before wrapping up the academic year. One thing that strikes me is how alike we can be, as one community of differing sizes, shapes, and colors. I consider it a gift to be able to experience such thoughtful and considerate individuals, amongst varying cultures and backgrounds, who express and live out a commitment to community. It is nice to appreciate that which brings us together, as the antithesis to that which divides us. These days, that seems counter-cultural.
This morning while walking my dog, I noticed this image on resisting fear at a local coffee shop. As I paste it into this blog, I note that my own reflection made its way into the picture. Makes me think how “assisting love” starts with ourselves, and how we reflect love out to others…just as today’s Gospel invites us to do, to “love one another.”
This week I am sharing a couple resources related to community, from two of my favorites…theologian Ann Gaerrido and the new Pope of the Catholic Church, Pope Leo XIV. May God continue to inspire each of them as advocates for the dignity and respect we all deserve. Blessings on your week ahead!
Let us continue to build relationships wherever we can, always looking for common ground amidst our differences and across our borders. Let us continue to find words to talk about what means most to us—holding fast to our deepest values, curious about why others hold what they hold and see what we don’t see. Every place is the right place and every time is the right time to love our neighbor. -Ann Garrido
In his first words to the crowds at Saint Peter’s Basilica following his inaugural mass as pontiff, Pope Leo XIV outlined a vision of a “missionary” Church which “builds bridges, which holds dialogues, which is always open”….”Help us, and each other, to build bridges through dialogue, through encounter, to come together as one people, always in peace,” he said (www.bbc.com).
Keeping the Faith 