“Walk alongside them” / “Camina a su lado”

A litany based on Luke 24:13-49 / Una letanía basada en Lucas 24:13-49

Poster by Faith Ringgold photographed at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago / Póster de Faith Ringgold fotografiado en el Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Chicago

by/por Magdalena I. García

That strange traveler on the road:
Walk with him, hear his story, learn from his reflection.
That homeless beggar on the road:
Walk with him, hear his story, learn from his exhaustion.
That unemployed worker on the road:
Walk with him, hear his story, learn from his frustration.

That pregnant adolescent on the road:
Walk with her, hear her story, learn from her dilemma.
That welfare mother on the road:
Walk with her, hear her story, learn from her poverty.
That battered wife on the road:
Walk with her, hear her story, learn from her rage.

That lonely elder on the road:
Walk with him, hear his story, learn from his isolation.
That mental health patient on the road:
Walk with him, hear his story, learn from his depression.
That criminal offender on the road:
Walk with him, hear his story, learn from his stigma.

That orphaned girl on the road:
Walk with her, hear her story, learn from her vulnerability.
That harassed woman on the road:
Walk with her, hear her story, learn from her resilience.
That silenced feminist on the road:
Walk with her, hear his story, learn from her persistence.

Those gay men on the road:
Walk with them, hear their story, learn from their journey.
Those queer youth on the road:
Walk with them, hear their story, learn from their questions.
Those transgender siblings on the road:
Walk with them, hear their story, learn from their erasure.

Those  asylum seekers on the road;
Walk with them, hear their story, learn from their desperation.
Those political prisoners on the road:
Walk with them, hear their story, learn from their indignation.
Those bombarded villagers on the road:
Walk with them, hear their story, learn from their desolation.

O God who walks
on main streets and back roads,
and who encounters us
in the foreigner and the vulnerable,
grant that the people we meet
on the way
and the stories we hear
along the way
may open our eyes,
soften our hearts,
and strengthen our resolve
to offer extreme hospitality
in your name,
sharing our table and our bread
with those who are often left behind.

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Ese extraño viajero en el camino:
Camina con él, oye su historia, aprende de su reflexión.
Ese mendigo desamparado en el camino:
Camina con él, oye su historia, aprende de su extenuación.
Ese obrero desempleado en el camino:
Camina con él, oye su historia, aprende de su frustración.

Esa adolescente embarazada en el camino:
Camina con ella, oye su historia, aprende de su dilema.
Esa madre mantenida en el camino:
Camina con ella, oye su historia, aprende de su pobreza.
Esa esposa abusada en el camino:
Camina con ella, oye su historia, aprende de su ira.

Ese anciano solitario en el camino:
Camina con él, oye su historia, aprende de su aislamiento.
Ese paciente de salud mental en el camino:
Camina con él, oye su historia, aprende de su depresión.
Ese despreciado delincuente en el camino:
Camina con él, oye su historia, aprende de su estigma.

Esa niña huérfana en el camino:
Camina con ella, oye su historia, aprende de su vulnerabilidad.
Esa mujer acosada en el camino:
Camina con ella, oye su historia, aprende de su resiliencia.
Esa feminista silenciada en el camino:
Camina con ella, oye su historia, aprende de su persistencia.

Esos homosexuales en el camino:
Camina con ellos, oye su historia, aprende de su peregrinaje.
Es@s jóvenes cuir en el camino:
Camina con ell@s, oye su historia, aprende de sus preguntas.
Eses hermanes transgénero en el camino:
Camina con elles, oye su historia, aprende de su borrado.

Esos peticionarios de asilo en el camino:
Camina con ellos, oye su historia, aprende de su desesperación.
Esos prisioneros políticos en el camino:
Camina con ellos, oye su historia, aprende de su indignación.
Esas aldeanos bombardeados en el camino:
Camina con ellos, oye su historia, aprende de su desolación.

Oh Dios que caminas
por las vías principales y las calles secundarias,
y quien nos sales al encuentro
en las personas extranjeras y vulnerables,
concede que la gente que conozcamos
en el camino
y las historias que escuchemos
por el camino
abran nuestros ojos,
ablanden nuestros corazones
y fortalezcan nuestra decisión
de ofrecer hospitalidad extrema
en tu nombre,
compartiendo nuestra mesa y nuestro pan
con quienes a menudo dejamos de lado.

© Magdalena I. García

Permission granted for liturgical use with author credit / Se concede permiso para uso litúrgico con crédito a la autora