On Faith: The hope, faith, and resilience of Latino communities

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Editor’s note: In time for Hispanic Heritage Month, Bread for the World is releasing a new devotional on September 15 that invites readers to reflect biblically on the interconnectedness of hunger, malnutrition, and climate change, issues that negatively impact Latino communities at home and push migration abroad. The following is the Introduction to the devotional.

By Dulce Gamboa

Bread for the World is honored to present “Finding Hope, Ending Hunger on Both Sides of the Border: A Bilingual Latino Devotional.

This devotional celebrates the hope, faith, and resilience of Latino communities, while also lamenting the evil of inequitable policies that, to this day, continue to oppress our people leading to hunger and poverty in the United States and south of the U.S.-Mexico border—even further exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

This devotional, written by and for Christian Latinos/as, seeks to inspire and empower individuals and churches to address the structural causes and negative consequences of hunger and poverty through faith and advocacy.

As we confront an uncertain future, our faith grounds us in God’s love for all people, ourselves, our family, and our community. This bilingual Latino devotional invites you to reflect biblically on the interconnectedness of hunger, malnutrition, and climate change, issues that negatively impact Latino communities in the United States and drive migration abroad.

Our devotional writers challenge us to feel the Spirit of God within us and to hear God’s urgent call to demand justice so all can put food on the table.

With the power and direction of the Holy Spirit, we know we can end hunger and poverty—systemic issues that are central to the Bible and the teachings of Jesus. We are committed to building a movement grounded in spiritual power so that we might be guided to the other side of this health crisis stronger and ready to rebuild our society in line with God’s vision of thriving and flourishing for all people.

To that end, we invite you to use these five devotional entries with your community of faith to reflect, pray, and act. Rooted in Christ, we can actively work against poverty by advocating for public policies that foster racial equity, shared prosperity, and opportunity for all.

Thank you for all you are doing to end hunger and poverty in our time.

Dulce Gamboa is senior Catholic Latino associate at Bread for the World. 

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