The U.S. province of the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth stands in solidarity with the Leadership Conference of Women Religious and all who strongly condemn the police-killing of another black man on the streets of our nation. We pray for and mourn with the family and friends of George Floyd and all who have lost loved ones to racial violence.
Racism is America’s original sin. Our complacency has created today’s American culture of injustice. As American citizens, we have stood by and watched the evils of racism pervade our society without speaking out and demanding substantive action for change. We have failed to acknowledge the destructive role of white privilege. For our sinfulness, we ask the forgiveness of our sisters and brothers of color and of each other.
Our Mother Foundress, Blessed Mary of Jesus the Good Shepherd (Frances Siedliska), wrote in 1901, “Mutual charity should prove itself in action and in practice. The principle that must always guide us is to see God in our neighbor… with no fiber of the heart remaining unpermeated with this supernatural motive of charity.” Inspired by the spirit of our Mother Foundress, we must no longer settle for superficial words that fail to address the deep wounds of the heart of our society. We must, instead, turn to actions and practices that create mutual charity and eliminate racial injustice.
As Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth, our mission calls us to create “communities of love and hope which celebrate the oneness of the human family” – the entire human family without regard for race. We do this through faithful listening, recognizing God in the everyday, and fostering loving relationships among ourselves and all families of the world.
In the wake of George Floyd’s death and the countless racially motivated deaths of so many others, we plead with the entire human family to commit to building communities of love and hope
Today, we join those who are raising their voices against racism and violence in the U.S. and throughout the world.
We pray for all those harmed by racial injustice, for our country to seek healing, and for our country’s leaders to take positive actions that will put an end to racial inequality on our streets and in our institutions. We also pray, through the power of the Holy Spirit, that we make responsible changes in our homes and in our hearts that touch the world with love, with reverence and acceptance of the other, and with action that will eradicate racial injustice.
Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash
