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Day 4: Who Are You Choosing?

These readings come at a very interesting time: election season. Neighborhoods are canvassed with signs broadcasting the names of candidates. Our doors are answered to the tune of, “Can I have a moment of your time?” We navigate social media, TV ads, and debates that often contain "false accusations" and "malicious speech" about opponents, social groups, and individuals in our society. It can be a time of coming together or a time of greater division.

Day 3: Hoping in the Invisible

I once asked my parents why they had decided to undertake the frightening and dangerous journey of leaving Mexico and illegally entering the United States. Their answer: por ti, por nuestros hijos. “For you, for our children.” In that answer, they revealed to me that their sacrifices were eased by their immense hope. Even more astounding, they hoped in something physically invisible. They were willing to endure the pain, injustice and rejection that immigrants suffer in the Unites States for the sake of what are now their four Mexican-American children. They had faith that God would guide them in this journey and that we (their children) would fully flourish in this country.

Day 2: Choosing the Way of the Cross

The Gospel focuses us on a fundamental aspect of Christian life—making choices. Jesus sets before would-be-disciples a daunting choice: “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.” Embrace of the cross leads to life, attempts to avoid it end in death. Following Jesus means to go the distance, walk the entire ‘way,’ and walk it each day. This calls for unflinching self-scrutiny, reorienting our desires, re-scaling our values, re- centering our hopes, and embodying new habits and practices.