Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, ‘I will try again tomorrow.’ “

We often hear people talk about the “sin of racism. ” Books and articles describe racism as America’s original sin. We identify racism with events and actions like slavery or Jim Crow laws. But it’s still corroding our nation.

I am a white American male with a college degree and a career, and I was blessed to be raised in a loving, Catholic home by parents who valued education, hard work, and faith. Apart from a few speeding tickets, I’ve had very little interaction with the police and have never felt a chill run up my spine due to being singled out by an officer based on my appearance.

The main center for Covenant House, the largest youth shelter in the world, is housed in a timeworn building in Midtown Manhattan. It’s hardly noticeable near the hubbub of the Port Authority, New York City’s bus station.

This year has been all about courage and change. Facing a new coronavirus with no vaccine or cure, we now see its ripples spreading unemployment and economic insecurity for millions and upending the education of a whole generation.

Long associated as a symbol of respite, shelter, and nourishment, an oasis serves as a spiritual metaphor as well as a place of spiritual rejuvenation. With that symbol in mind and energized with the Franciscan spirit, Brother David Buer, OFM, has spent decades working to provide refuge and resources to those in need in the American Southwest.

His path to becoming a Franciscan and living a life of service has roots in a clear understanding of what it means to be an outsider in our society.