Relationship. Is that something we take for granted? What

I recently heard a presentation by Jane Elliot, the teacher, who as a result of the death of Martin Luther King Jr., did the brown eye/blue eye experiment in her classroom to teach the students the effects of racism. She highlighted for the audience how racism and prejudice are alive and well right here in the land of the free. Her views on diversity, world religions, politics, oppression, and power might have angered some in the audience. She probably made some people squirm. And the reality is that she was right about what she was saying.

So as I think about Columbus Day and Thanksgiving I think about the American Indians. As I think about politics and upcoming elections I think about the rich and the poor, black and white, majority and minority, and where decision-making power is in relation to those demographics. I am a white man aware of the increasing diversity around me - in my local community, the nation, and world.

I'm also Christian and Marianist. Along with being part of one race - the human race - I share values and beliefs with brothers and sisters around the globe. We have our very own world wide web in the Marianist family. We are interdependent. We have something to offer and something to receive whether in relationship to those around us or to those on another continent whom we have never met.  MLNNA includes the United States, Canada and Haiti. We are part of a region that includes Ireland, Australia, Philippines, India, South Korea, and Japan. And we have counterparts throughout Africa, Europe and Latin America.

We have connections. We are many yet we are one. That is a gift to us, to our communities, to the Church and to the world. We realize that we are part of something larger. We are inclusive. We welcome diversity.  We are a discipleship of equals living out our baptismal call.

We also have connections to the past; to those who have gone before us. As we prepare for All Saints Day and All Souls Day I am conscientious of the communion of saints and the benefits I reap as a result of our relatives and ancestors. I reflect on the lives of our Marianist saints and martyrs (click the language you want, then Family, then Saints). I am grateful for the charism they shared and the example and courage by which they lived and died.

I wonder. Where is my place in the world? What do I owe to those around me? To those I don't know and have never met? To those who will come after me? To those whose lives I will touch by every action or inaction, regardless of intent? Do I live a life of courage and stand up for what I believe in? And where is my place among the communion of saints?

Food for thought: how would you or your community answer the questions above if you were the ones asking them?

In closing, I offer this poem attributed to Ralph Waldo Emerson but possibly written by Bessie A. Stanley: