Where Are the Prophets of Our Day – Daniel Berrigan

He [Isaiah] knows, at the least, that the people, including the religious system, “know nothing….” Where are the Isaiah’s of our day? Could they be found among the outsiders—a prisoner or a widow or an orphan or a homeless one or an “illegal alien” or someone driven mad by the system? The vision often starts among such persons who can cut to the essentials in matters of life and death, of compassion and right judgment, while the rest of us know nothing. (Isaiah; Spirit of Courage, Gift of Tears, p. 8)

Fr. Berrigan’s words are difficult for me to read. He challenges me to recognize and remove my lens of white male privilege and truly open my eyes and ears to look beyond myself. To look beyond myself and truly hear the voice of the prophets speaking; to see those whom this authoritarian regime vilifies as my siblings; to raise my voice with them, and to hear their cry for justice. We must not stop until the word of the prophet Amos becomes reality for all of God’s people—Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream. (Amos 5:24)