A MARCH FOR HOPE: LOVE HAS TRIUMPHED OVER HATRED (1 of 2)

Last Friday, Good Friday, I participated in two Good Friday marches that touched my soul deeply. The first was with the guests of the soup kitchen. Nearly 40 participants (adults and children) carried song and hope to the neighborhood. We prayed for all the suffering and loss in this neighborhood. We remembered the many parents in the neighborhood who cry for their children: those mothers who have lost children to drugs and death; those mothers who had great dreams for their children and saw them get dashed by tough situations; those mothers and grandmothers who have sacrificed so much for their children and grandchildren. We prayed for strength when troubles come; we prayed that each of us could help lift up people who are suffering from the burdens of illness, addiction and loneliness.

We prayed for ways to reconcile and forgive in our families and our neighborhood. We prayed that we could each be a spark of love—building love and community, peace
and trust. We prayed and prayed and then, as a sign of our commitment to hope and life, we planted flowers all around the soup kitchen grounds. It was a good “GOOD FRIDAY”.

Author: Sister Nancyann Turner
Capuchin Soup Kitchen Rosa Parks Children Program Manager