August 2020 Issue

Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, ‘I will try again tomorrow.’”

We often hear people talk about the “sin of racism.” Books and articles describe racism as America’s original sin. We identify racism with events and actions like slavery or Jim Crow laws. But it's still corroding our nation.

I am a white American male with a college degree and a career, and I was blessed to be raised in a loving, Catholic home by parents who valued education, hard work, and faith.

The main center for Covenant House, the largest youth shelter in the world, is housed in a timeworn building in Midtown Manhattan. It’s hardly noticeable near the hubbub of the Port Authority, New York City’s bus station.

This year has been all about courage and change. Facing a new coronavirus with no vaccine or cure, we now see its ripples spreading unemployment and economic insecurity for millions and upending the education of a whole generation.

Long associated as a symbol of respite, shelter, and nourishment, an oasis serves as a spiritual metaphor as well as a place of spiritual rejuvenation.