We’ve been praying about all that is happening in our country in recent days.
One thing we fully believe is that if we open our hearts, we will be better able to deal with disturbing news about the welfare of people in this changing environment. If we lead with an open heart, we will see others as our sisters and brothers. We will lean into mercy for others, because in our hearts we know God has given each of us the mercy of forgiveness.
Our hope lies in this: that God first loved us, and that our love for God and our neighbor is a gift of grace.
Ethics of Solidarity
As Sisters of St. Joseph of Baden, Pennsylvania, we recognize the image of God in all humanity as well as the sacredness of creation. To do so, we rely on the teachings of the Church and the Gospel that draw us consistently to solidarity with all of life. We recognize the call to listen to all persons, to understand and respect their hopes and joys, pains and experiences, and to be attentive to the gifts of all creation.
We desire to stand beside all who are engaged in the experience of living, of bringing forth new life, and of searching for fullness of life. We try to listen without judging, and to encourage all people to search deeply for the moral dimension of their decisions. In accompanying others, we search for mercy—for the particular way that God is loving each person.
We recognize an ethic of solidarity, that is, an understanding that all of us as human beings are mutually responsible for each other and for creation. The discipline of listening, we believe, calls us out of the hardness of our own hearts into the experience of others. It draws us into the presence of God who teaches us to regard one another and ourselves with mercy. We pray for the grace to be open to the many manifestations of God’s call in the lives of all persons.
For this reason, we work for every kind of justice in all the ways possible for us. We do so believing that there are many ways to stand for life. When we touch any form of injustice, we are one with God in seeking mercy and justice everywhere.
We do this in the desire to deepen our rootedness in Christ, whose image we find in all others and in ourselves. In a world that is divided, may we seek not the advantage of any individual or group over another, but grace for the entirety of creation. May we be faithful to our deepest desire, which is for union of all with one another and with God.
We pray for justice for those suffering from violence and oppression, repentance for those perpetrating evil, and for ourselves in our weakness. We ask this in the name of Christ.