Take My Hand

My heart hurts.

Too many families are grieving this day as communities of color particularly suffer from the impact of illness and racism.

My heart hurts.

The ideological divide in our country has deepened to the point that the very actions that can keep communities healthy and thriving have been politicized and as a result, people are dying.

My heart hurts.

It feels as if the only news is bad news and I keep asking myself, “Is there any word from God?”

My heart hurts.

Social isolation is affecting mental health and recovery.

My heart hurts.

What is the state of your heart?

John Wesley, in his sermon, “Catholic Spirit”, wrote: "If your heart is as my heart, take my hand." 

We need to take each other’s hands. Connected to one another, through love, causes us to bear our siblings’ burdens. It opens us to the lives of others—their joys and their pain, the places where they hurt and the parts that are tender.

Just as God loves us with a love that will never let us go, when we hold each other’s hands we commit to staying connected even when we would rather turn away from the experiences of another. It causes us to stay in the conversation even when it is hard. It expands our view as we see through another’s eyes a world that may be so unlike our own. When we take each other’s hands, we agree to build a world together where suffering, injustice, pain and poverty are vanquished.

Whose hands do you hold? Whose lives are you willing to fight for?

I know my heart isn’t the only heart to hurt. Take my hand.

May we find comfort in the Psalms that promise us, “Weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.” Together, we can push back on all the forces that denigrate, defile and deny the image of God that each person possesses.

Be well! Stay safe! Wear a mask!