Loading...
Loading...
Click here if you don’t see subscription options
In All Things

Restore your faith in humanity with the #WelcometoCanada campaign.

Jim McDermottDecember 15, 2015

Barring a minor miracle, tonight’s final Republican debate of 2015 will involve at least a few disparaging-to-hateful comments about immigrants, refugees and/or Muslims. So much for "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses."

For those who find themselves discouraged by the tenor of the conversation tonight, may I suggest walking away from the debate from time to time and searching for the #WelcometoCanada hashtag on Twitter. On the night of Dec. 10, Canada welcomed its first 600 Syrian refugees. (Ten thousand are due in the country in the next three weeks.) In response to their arrival, thousands of Canadians have been posting words of welcome. 

Here are just a few examples:

Videos, too, have been posted, including this remarkable performance by a children’s choir of “Tala’ al-Badru ‘Alayna,” the song of gratitude and welcome sung to the Prophet Mohamed when he sought refuge in Medina.

St. Ignatius says in the midst of discouragement it’s important to recall those times when we knew hope, joy, kindness, grace. As some politicians’ words seed fear or despair, how nice it can be to turn elsewhere and be reminded of the goodness that lies within us.

Oh the white moon rose over us
From the valley of Wada'
It is incumbent upon us to show gratitude
For as long as anyone in existence calls out to God
Oh our Messenger amongst us
Who comes with the exhortations to be heeded
You have brought to this city nobility
We welcome you who call to us a good way
Show Comments (
)
Comments are automatically closed two weeks after an article's initial publication. See our comments policy for more.

Most popular

1
Cardinal Reina: The next pope must continue the reform Francis began
Gerard O’Connell
2
Where the cardinals stand one day before the conclave
Inside the Vatican, Jesuitical
3
The conclave’s toughest question isn’t whether to pursue unity. It’s how.
Sam Sawyer, S.J.
4
‘Adopt a Cardinal’ helps Catholics pray for the electors inside the conclave
Jim McDermott
5
Cardinal John Dew: On feeling nervous before the conclave—and praying through it.
Cardinal John Dew

Your source for jobs, books, retreats, and much more.

Loyola on the Potomac, A Jesuit Retreat House
Retreat Houses, Retreats
Interspiritual Contemplative Day of Reflection at Holy Family Retreat Center – In Person or Online
Retreats
All My Eyes See: The Artistic Vocation of Fr. William Hart McNichols
Books
Come Join Us
Volunteer / Vocation
Online Evening Prayer with Young Adults
Activities, Events
See all Classifieds

The latest from america

The rise of religious orders among the conclave’s cardinal electors
Perhaps a revealing question is whether the church will continue the radical novelty Francis brought as a pope from a religious order—and whether this is the continuity needed now.
Ricardo da Silva, S.J.May 06, 2025
The history (and future) of covering conclaves
'America' is covering its 10th papal conclave this week—and while the technology has changed, the content remains much the same.
James T. KeaneMay 06, 2025
I learned to love the last three popes. I look forward to embracing the next one, too.
No one gathers Christians—Catholics and non-Catholics alike—throughout the world, however imperfectly, in the way the pope does. The world needs the pope.
Quang D. TranMay 06, 2025
Co-leaders Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla of the Alternative for Germany party hold a press conference in Berlin Sept. 2, 2024, after state elections in the Saxony and Thuringia regions of eastern Germany. (OSV News/Lisi Niesner, Reuters)
In Germany, the Catholic Church grapples with the growing appeal of the far-right AfD
German Catholic bishops say that even where the party has not tipped into extremism, it has failed to reform itself of such tendencies. They charge that a nationalism incompatible with Christianity has become the AfD’s animating ideology.
Bridget RyderMay 06, 2025