From the Editor's Desk

Keep the candle burning

September is a time when many things begin anew. So, too, at NCR. As I mentioned earlier this summer, we are planning the journey for the road ahead. But before we get too far along, I’m reminded of a piece of advice I learned from the many people who have mentored me over the years: Listen to those you serve and make note of what stirs their hearts.

If one theme rings true, after many conversations and e-mails, it’s the virtue of hope and its place in the lives of so many of our readers. Hope is a basic belief in a positive outcome relating to events and circumstances in our lives. Of course, despair, in contrast to hope, is often the more prevalent state of mind when we’re discussing many issues of church, government and foreign policy. And with good reason.

Usually, when people contact me, it’s because they have a concern that needs to be addressed. They express frustration, anger, suffering and sadness. But regardless of the desolation that shapes many exchanges, the spirit of perseverance, in spite of evidence to the contrary, is not only striking but uplifting. We are a hope-filled people. The late Cardinal Joseph Bernardin, just prior to his death, told NCR that we must keep the candle burning.

This is not misguided optimism. Hope is a theological virtue that shapes our presence in the world. It holds us firmly in place as the winds blow from all directions. It reflects our belief in the fulfillment of God’s covenantal promise of love. NCR readers know challenge and disappointment, but if I’m hearing things correctly, they are also people of great faith, seeking the best of what can be for the church and the world.

To help us accept the challenge, we are seeking your ideas as we continue our commitment to the mission of independent journalism that values justice, compassion and human dignity. Benedictine Sr. Linda Romey, NCR’s director of marketing, is asking as many of our readers as possible to participate in a quick readership survey, which can be found at this Web address: ncronline.org/survey. This is the first of what will be a series of short surveys soliciting your opinion and comments on a wide variety of topics to help build our future. From time to time, we will also print some of the surveys in the paper so as not to exclude those readers without access to the Internet. The advantage of using the Internet is the low cost and ease when collating results.

Also, this week, we have set aside two staff planning days for assessing the effectiveness of our publication and envisioning new possibilities. Gracing our meeting room is a collection of photographs of those who have gone before us and remind us that we are united in hope with a large communion of saints, whose work was animated by deep hope. We will be adding more photographs to this collection over the course of the year. Some of the people represented are Sr. Thea Bowman, NCR reporter Penny Lernoux, NCR columnist Fr. Robert Drinan, Archbishop Hélder Câmera of Olinda and Recife, Brazil, and NCR writer Gary MacEoin.

Hope is not only the desire for what might be, but the expectation of obtaining it as well.

You can contact me at rlarivee@ncronline.org.

-- Sr. Rita Larivee, SSA

National Catholic Reporter, September 21, 2007