In October of 2017, a favorite blogger of mine and a friend of Mercy by the Sea, Omid Safi, wrote a blog on the On Being website, entitled How Can We Live Beautifully in an Age of Vitriol. I have been re-reading this lately as the vitriol in our country disappoints and demoralizes those of us who believe in conversation and an honest exchange of ideas.
Omid, Director of the Islamic Studies Center at Duke University, turned to his Muslim faith when struggling with the question of living in the age of venom and hatefulness. His blog focused on an incident in the Libyan resistance to Italian fascism between 1911 and 1931. I quote:
A critical concern of the Sisters of Mercy is “to stand in solidarity with immigrants and to address policies that push people to flee their countries.” This commitment is what motivated me to invite Mary Lesser to share her “Immigrant Journals” exhibit in our art gallery. I thought the exhibit would also be thought-provoking in light of the anti-immigrant, anti-refugee rhetoric and policies that are being activated in our country.
As a daughter of Irish immigrants, I can see myself in some of Mary’s haunting photos.
Pope Francis has been heralded as a champion of immigrants, climate change, peace, the poor and oppressed. In a recent TED Talk, Pope Francis, speaking in Italian with subtitles, made several points.
Ann Grasso, whose exhibit, “Begging Bowls, Offering Bowls,” is currently on display in our Mary C. Daly RSM Art Gallery, included with her artwork a poem by Stuart Kestenbaum called “Holding the Light”:
