STRUGGLE AND HOPE

 

“We know that hope is often put to the test. Our world is marked by war and by so many injustices; it is torn by individualism. All this often generates doubt, fear of the future and very often desperation. But we Christians bring a certainty: Christ is our hope. He is the door of hope, always. He is the good news for this world! And this hope – it is curious – does not belong to us. Hope is not a possession you can put in your pocket. No, it does not belong to us. It is a gift to share, a light to transmit. And if hope is not shared, it falls.

Do not be afraid to respond to this call! Being missionaries means letting oneself be shaken by the Holy Spirit. I recommend that you read the first chapters of the Acts of the Apostles and see what the Holy Spirit does. It is the Spirit who guides the Church, He stirs hearts. And hope is born here. At times, letting oneself be shaken by the Holy Spirit can mean coming out of our habitual mindsets and even accepting to “mess up”. The Holy Spirit is the Master.”

                                 Pope Francis' words to the leaders of the “Congrès Mission”

 

The above mural, Struggle and Hope, at Portland Community Collage, was designed by former PCC art faculty member William Dyas Garnett (1939-2004) and painted in 1988 by over 50 community volunteers. While it celebrates the struggle for political freedom and land reform in El Salvador, Guatemala and Nicaragua during the time of U.S. Military involvement when the region was in the grip of widespread poverty and political repression, it certainly illustrates the on-going struggle not only of these countries  but of many across the globe. This mural celebrates the hope for grassroots movements in healthcare, education and land reform amidst this turmoil.

 The painting memorializes two casualties of this struggle. On the left is the funeral procession for Archbishop Oscar Romero of El Salvador, a heroic advocate for freedom and justice and an outspoken critic of government political oppression and torture, who was assassinated in 1980 while performing Mass. On the right is Portland engineer Ben Linder, shown working on a hydroelectric dam project to bring energy to local farmers in the remote mountain region of El Cua-Bocay, where he and Nicaraguan co-workers Pablo Rosales and Sergio Hernandez were killed in an attack by U.S. backed Contras in 1987.