Dear friends,

At Easter, Christians recall God’s complete solidarity with all of humanity, not only standing with us as fully human in Jesus Christ, but joining us in the vulnerability of human suffering.

Our Easter hope tells us that God wants to draw all humanity into communion with each other and raise us up in the fulness of life.

I am often encouraged by the example of Fr. Greg Boyle, S.J., a Jesuit priest working in Los Angeles. He is well-known in the United States for his work with members of gangs on the edges of society, who are so often engaged in cycles of violence.

In his powerful book, Tattoos on the Heart, Boyle describes his work as, like Jesus, extending the circle of kinship to erase the margins that divide the insiders and outsiders of society.

He writes: “We imagine no one standing outside of that circle, moving ourselves closer to the margins so that the margins themselves will be erased. We stand there with those whose dignity has been denied. We locate ourselves with the poor and the powerless and the voiceless.

At the edges, we join the easily despised and the readily left out. We stand with the demonized so that the demonizing will stop. We situate ourselves right next to the disposable so that the day will come when we stop throwing people away.”

I like to think this is how JRS operates, as well.

We stand with some of the most vulnerable and sidelined members of our community in order to erase the boundaries of exclusion and build a community where all may flourish. I see this same solidarity in the encouraging generosity of our volunteers and supporters who take part in our work.

This Easter, I invite you to continue to be part of this work of solidarity, and thank you for your support for our mission.

May you and your family enjoy a grace-filled Easter.

Fr. Brett