I can"t. Really?

I have no wish to get into the fray over the Will Smith slap at the Oscars.  Having said that, I was impressed by a line Smith used in explainig himself.  He said, "I am a work in progress".  Aren't we all a 'work in progress'?    

In this age of a pandemic and wars, the cry of too many around me is defeatist.  There is no 'work in progress' thought alive in their mindset.  Rather I am hearing far too often people seemingly overcome by the 'I cannot' cry, which appears as a cry of this age.  

I appreciate that many are suffering terribly and hurting deep down.  I so feel for them in their plight but we cannot just stay there, as where do we go then?  This cry is the cry of ones seeing no hope, leading nowhere, except to a dead end.  Its path is one of self-destruction.  What purpose does that serve for anyone?  The 'I cannot' cry will ultimately become the 'I will not' cry.  The cry of hopelessness thus becomes the cry of lifelessness. 

Such a cry is the very opposite of the gospel cry, which is a cry for hope, a cry for life for all.  Its cry has a longer title but that is okay, for nothing worthwhile is simple.  It may read as                                        'I can and I will with the help of God and in solidarity with my neighbour'.    

Isaiah 43.

Pope Francis is talking to us of building the culture of social tenderness.  This challenges the world to move from a culture driven by fear, exclusion and domination to a culture driven by trust, fraternity and care for all.  This demands a cultural shift, which is a huge demand, but we can and we will with God's help and in solidarity with each other.  The cry for our new era is not 'I can't', but 'I can'.