Following are NCR reader responses to recent news articles, opinion columns and theological essays with letters that have been edited for length and clarity.
Not afraid to hope
Thank you for your encouraging words in the editorial "Hope in a time of darkness" (ncronline.org, Nov. 6, 2024). I work at an outreach center for immigrants. Our families are worried about their future and the future of their children. Some children are DACA recipients and are worried about their future here. Many families have asylum status and are waiting for news about their next appointments.
I have prayed to God and shared my fears and the fears of our students and families. I keep playing the song "Do Not Fear to Hope" by Rory Cooney: "do not fear to hope though the wicked rage and rise, our God sees not as we see, success is not the prize."
This paragraph in your article really struck me:
Our hope is not rooted in some fleeting optimism, but in the enduring truths of our faith grounded in the Gospels, which teach boundless love and the core belief that darkness does not have the last word.
PAT MADDEN
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
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An American prayer
I am praying for the grace to forgive America for the sins of misogyny, racism, and scapegoating;
For the grace to forgive and love my neighbor, who I feel betrayed me and my dream of America;
To forgive and love as Jesus did although they shouted Barabbas and not His name;
To love and forgive my fellow Catholics and Catholic leaders who like Judas fell in league with those who betrayed Jesus and said nothing;
To not curse but to embrace our broken nation, as Jesus offers His mercy to us who crucified Him;
To be brave, to have courage and radical joy in the hope of the vision of the Kingdom, which will certainly come;
For the strength and humility to build the Beloved Community through the path of love and compassion;
To say forgive them, Lord, for they know not what they do.
Amen.
MELANIE WATANABE
New York, New York
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Advertisement
Trump: America's Barabbas
This election reminds me of the tragic scene in the Gospels where an angry crowd, given a chance to rescue an innocent and vulnerable man, instead begged for the release of a criminal.
The analogy isn't perfect, but it illustrates how a passionate crowd, agitated by the authorities, can be enticed to make a misguided choice.
As one commentator noted, this was an election based on feelings, not on facts; on character, or in this case, the lack thereof.
Much of Trump's appeal depends upon lies and misrepresentation and the fantasy that someone can say and do anything he wishes and get away with it. This is also, not coincidentally, the fantasy that attracts men to porn — all-powerful men who can act without moral restraint or empathy for the basic dignity of another human being. Sadly, now a version of this fantasy will be acted out in real time before our eyes, and countless people may suffer- — none more than the least among us.
People like me will be chastised for not accepting the will of the people, or not recognizing the legitimate grievances of some of Trump's supporters.
But sometimes, in the absence of truth, misguided crowds make terrible mistakes.
DAVID WARREN
Waterloo, Iowa
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