Studying the Open Wide Our Hearts Letter
Every Thursday in Lent we will offer a chance to read & reflect on an excerpt from the pastoral letter from the US Catholic Bishops. There will be additional excerpts available on the website for those interested. If you would like to see the letter in its entirety, please click here.
Read the following excerpt from the bishop’s letter. Then reflect using the questions below.
Hispanics from various countries have experienced discrimination in housing, employment, healthcare, and education. Hispanics have been referred to by countless derogatory names, have encountered negative assumptions made about them because of their ethnicity, have suffered discrimination in applying for college, for housing, and in registering to vote. …Today, many Hispanics are often assumed to be in this country illegally. These attitudes of cultural superiority, indifference, and racism need to be confronted; they are unworthy of any follower of Christ.
— Open Wide Our Hearts, Pg 15-16 USCCB
Questions for reflection
What is my immediate response to the paragraph? What stood out to me?
Were you aware of the hardships facing other minorities in our country?
Reflect for a moment on which biased or racist ideas you may hold regarding Hispanics or other groups that are often discriminated against.
Growing up many of us heard how the US was a “melting pot” of cultures and immigrants. Does that idea still hold true?
Families: If your family only speaks one language, consider reading through a common prayer (Hail Mary or Our Father) in Spanish or other language. If your family is bilingual, consider looking up a prayer in a third language
Padre Nuestro Our Father in Spanish by Catholic.org
Rosary Prayers in Asante (Akan) from Ghana by maryrosaries.com
Our Father in Hindi (video) by Ministrants
Reflect on how the same prayers are said around the world, in many different languages every day. How does that knowledge affect you?
Additional Resources:
Open Wide Our Hearts Study Guide by USCCB This study guide covers the entire document with further insight, discussion/reflection questions, and links to additional resources, including links for the Native American experience as well.
Hispanic Ministry by the Diocese of Des Moines.
Additional paragraph to ponder:
“These examples from the experiences of Native, African, and Hispanic Americans demonstrate how, as a nation, we have never sufficiently contended with the impact of overt racism. Nor have we spent the necessary time to examine where the racist attitudes of yesterday have become a permanent part of our perceptions, practices, and policies of today, or how they have been enshrined in our social, political, and economic structures. Much can be learned in hearing the stories of those who have lived through the effects of racism. In examining the generational effects of racism on families, communities, and our Church, each of us can begin to act in solidarity to change the prospects for future generations.”
— Open Wide Our Hearts, Pg 15-16 USCCB