Journeying Toward Freedom and Equity

https://ignatiansolidarity.net/blog/2021/03/19/steadfast-showing-up/ Day 31   Lately I have begun feeling completely overwhelmed with the task of showing up for justice. I have become discouraged with the long road and lack of progress in  the march toward equity and justice in our society. How can it take so long to deliver what Jesus has so clearly called us to do? To love one another. And then I reflect and recognize that my sense of urgency is born of my need to accomplish things quickly, to get the job done, to rely on myself. In Eileen  Markey’s reflection “Steadfast and Showing Up,” she reminds us of the importance of being reliable, doing the small tasks, and remembering that we are present and  part of a larger story. It is time to lay aside my pride, rely on the strength and commitment of my partners in the work of changing hearts and minds, and move forward with humility.   “Act Justly Love Mercy Walk Humbly With Your God”  ...

https://ignatiansolidarity.net/blog/2021/03/08/kindness-justice/           As I read today’s reflection, I am struck once again by the wisdom of youth.  Working as a tutor for at-risk students at Hillside Work and Scholarship, and advising the ACTS Youth Council, I am frequently in the company of young people who open my eyes with fresh perspectives and re-ignite my enthusiasm for working for justice and equity.           High school senior Timmy Lake’s assertion that once we observe injustice, we must act with kindness, offers the opportunity to begin the work with small, humble actions.  Reaching out to a child who has been hurt by unkind words because of being different, listening to a teen who is struggling with issues of racial inequity, helping a recent immigrant navigate the confusing systems of a new country—all these kindnesses move us from the passive world of observing injustice to the acti...

https://ignatiansolidarity.net/blog/2021/03/02/lamentation-fury-hope/           How do we wash ourselves clean? How do we put away our misdeeds? How do we make justice our aim? How do we set things right? The Lord tells us with certainty in today’s first reading from the first chapter of the Prophet Isaiah to hear and to listen and then to do. And Jesus tells us with certainty in today’s Gospel reading to serve. How we hear, how we listen, and how we do (serve) is up to us as individuals and as groups and communities of believers.           Do we trust God enough to make efforts to hear, to listen and to serve as God has told us?             When we trust God and make efforts to hear and to listen and to serve, God will show us ways, because God loves us more than we will ever know. God is more than worthy of our trust.             So many are struggling...