I recently moved back home to live with my parents. An evening tradition in our house is watching ABC’s World News together. Each night, we watch as natural catastrophes desecrate people’s homes; the numbers of school shootings continue to rise; migrants are attacked and criminalized. It all feels too much to witness, and I oscillate between feelings of grief to feeling numb.  

The words of the prophet Habakkuk remain on the tip of my tongue and in the quadrants of my heart: “Why do you let me see this ruin; why must I look at misery?”

Digital access to global news and media offers a unique “connection” to suffering as compared to other moments in history. This proximity to suffering– and the constant inundation of “bad news”– implicates us. When we witness suffering in our world, do we turn our backs on those most in need? Do we become numb to others’ pain and deaf to their cries? Or do we face suffering and stand in solidarity with our brothers and sisters?

Pope Francis offered a response to a suffering world in his theology of encounter. Something I’ve appreciated about Pope Francis was his ability to practice what he preached. One of my favorite Pope Francis Moments was his encounter with Emanuele, an eight-year-old boy from Rome. When Emanuele had the opportunity to ask Pope Francis a question, he became overcome with emotion. Francis was moved with pity and invited Emanuele to his side. During their embrace, Emanuele asked Francis his question, and when he returned to his seat, Francis told the crowd (a crowd of mostly children), “‘If only we could all cry like Emanuele when we have an ache in our hearts like he has…’”

Pope Francis acknowledged and reminded us that it is okay to cry when we are suffering– or when we witness suffering. Francis saw Emanuele’s tears as not only an act of bravery but also as something profoundly human. Emanuele’s tears remind us of today’s psalm: “If today you hear God’s voice, harden not your hearts.” It can be tempting to turn away from suffering, to numb our own feelings in response to what we see.  

And I’m not a very patient person. I echo Habakkuk’s “How long, O LORD?” when I think about the “not yet” of the Kingdom of God. But I must also remember the “already” because it is present to us.  

We see the in-breaking of the Kingdom when communities rally together for the most marginalized, when local food banks serve the hungry, when diversity is celebrated, when children laugh and play as children should…  

And when we see the “not yet” so blatantly present before our eyes, let us recall Timothy’s words in our second reading: “For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice but rather of power and love and self-control. So do not be ashamed…”  

When I watch the news with my parents each night, when I pray for those I have encountered through immersion trips or within my own community, when I lobby for equality and compassion, I will not be ashamed to weep, to feel my heart break as I see the reality of suffering in this world. I pray that you, too, will not allow your heart to harden as you witness violence and destruction. Rather, I pray that we all may turn to our neighbor, encounter them, allow our hearts to break, and let the mercy of God work through us. Have faith, even if it be the size of a mustard seed. Because God’s Kingdom will come on Earth as it is in Heaven.