Day 32 | Finding Strength and Unity
BY DESIREE ARMAS | April 6, 2019
Today’s Readings
“Does our law condemn a man before it hears him and finds out what he is doing?” [Jn 7:51]
Our current time urges us to resist. And it can be easy not to: whether it’s our full-time job, the kids, school, or other personal troubles, we simply don’t have the time to put ourselves out there and fight. It’s not that we don’t care, but we’re just stuck in the present and day-to-day—struggling to get by, making the rent or paying off the mortgage, lack of proper medical care—our broken system has placed us in a position of forced “do-nothingness.” But from this broken system, we can find the strength and unity that we need to change it. The current hatred and bigotry in our nation’s political climate has divided our country, but has also been responded to with community trust and solidarity from our allies. We voice love and acceptance, human rights and justice on the front lines, ready to fight our broken systems. Because where we come from or what we look like should not have to break us even further. We are ready to mine the peace and humanity within the dried-up terrain that is our broken system.
So, where do we find ourselves? As men and women for others? As upholders and defenders of peace?
Let us voice the troubles of the defenseless and weak, for we shall find God’s love within them.
Desiree Armas is an undocumented and unafraid, proud Latina Youth Leader at Make the Road NJ and co-founder of the Sunrise Movement- Jersey City hub. Desiree is dedicated to educating and informing her fellow peers about the tragic reality of climate change and the ever-present social injustices we face in our daily lives. She is a current second-year student at Saint Peter’s University, with a major in environmental studies and a minor in social justice.
Voicing the troubles of the weak and the defenceless adds life to our lifespan.