Extraordinary faith

For extraordinary moments we need extraordinary faith. ~ St Madeleine Sophie Barat

Today is the day when Americans will cast their votes, and the end of an increasingly ugly and vitriolic US presidential election campaign. Scarily, whatever the outcome, today will not be the end of the nastiness and division; a deep, angry wound has been opened up, as in Europe and the UK - one which cannot be quickly healed, much less hastily patched up.

No country is truly an island; what happens in the US will affect all of us, no matter how geographically distant we may be. And so today, even as we go about our normal business, millions of us hold our collective breath, pray, and anxiously scan the news for signs of hope.

Today is undoubtedly an extraordinary moment in the life of our world, for which we all - American or not - need extraordinary faith in the strength and redemptive power of God's love.

And so I pray for my American sisters and friends; pray for their country, for its minorities and migrants, its angry and disempowered as much as its people of goodwill; for its eventual leaders, its faith leaders, journalists, and for all those who will work for America's stabilisation, healing and rebuilding. May Philippine, who poured out her life for the people of America, Sophie, who missioned her and accompanied her from afar, and Janet, so beloved and well received there, join their prayers to all of ours.

And may all of us be blessed with the firm bedrock of an extraordinary faith, and with the strength and extraordinary love we will need for the healing of these times...