A popular maxim holds that we cannot control what happens to us but only how we respond to it. Of course, sometimes we can control what happens, yet, not to quibble, there is plenty in life to which we have only our response. So much of this issue of Maryknoll magazine is less about what happened than how Maryknoll missioners and others around the world are responding. Some of these responses deal with the challenges of COVID-19, while others look beyond this pandemic.
We see this in how people in a barrio in Honduras carry on the loving legacy of a late Maryknoll priest who served there, in the efforts of a peacebuilder in South Sudan who helps resolve conflicts among rival ethnic groups in the fledgling nation, and in how a Maryknoll sister works with young and old alike to help deepen faith in the southeast Asian nation of East Timor. In the winning entries from Maryknoll’s annual student essay contest, two young scholars eloquently address Pope Francis’ call to “build a civilization of love.”
Like the rest of the world, we at Maryknoll have grappled this past year with how to respond to the immediacy of the pandemic, and now, going forward, with its long-term impact on mission and mission education. As part of our response, we continue to develop new channels for messaging and invite you once again to go to www.maryknollmagazine.org and click on our News category for more stories about Maryknoll and Catholic mission overall.
Lynn F. Monahan
Editor-in-Chief
