Hanging On for Life


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While I was walking outside the other day, I saw a dead leaf hanging by a thread from a branch twirling in the breeze.  It was attached by such a fragile filament, yet dancing around and around as if it were not ready to die just yet.

It reminded me of our current situation in the U.S. Some of us are like that leaf, holding on for dear life after the recent election. We may not feel like dancing, but the winds of change around us are putting us in motion. We are not ready to give up yet. We are praying, resisting, signing petitions, speaking out against injustices, especially against Trump’s immigration decree. His decision to deport about three million  undocumented immigrants, to split up families, to oust students from their schools, is deplorable. These are not just numbers, these are human beings, many of whom have fled violence, drug lords, and extreme poverty to seek freedom. They could not wait years before they would be eligible to be admitted.
 
The U.S. Catholic bishops are committed to protect their Hispanic congregations and hopefully others  will join them. Surely this protection will include our Muslim brothers and sisters also. We are called to show the mercy of God, to build bridges of understanding, not walls of rejection and hate. Already there are incidents of discrimination and bullying arising in schools and on campuses.

Like that leaf, some of us are not ready to die just yet. We are clinging to threads of hope in the midst of the storms of destruction. Our forefathers and foremothers fought for freedom for all. So must we.

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