A scripture reflection links the readings for the Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time with the political mood after the US midterms. Angela Howard-McParland celebrates the historic LGBTQ+ representation expected in Congress, but argues that progress can swing backwards. Her message is to hold on to hope while staying alert, and to keep pressing for equality and justice.

Essential Takeaways

  • A call to stay alert: The reflection draws on Paul’s message to the Thessalonians about remaining ready and watchful.
  • A historic Congress: Roll Call reports several milestones among the candidates elected to the 120th Congress, while Equality PAC says 18 openly LGBTQ+ candidates won seats.
  • Progress can reverse: Howard-McParland connects past and present patterns of exclusion, and warns against political complacency.
  • Keep the work going: She urges readers to support education, advocacy and efforts such as the Sisters of Mercy’s Love and Abundant Justice initiative.

Hope matters, but so does vigilance

Hope is welcome, but it doesn’t make the work of protecting people’s rights disappear. In her reflection, Angela Howard-McParland celebrates the increased LGBTQ+ representation expected in the incoming US Congress, while warning that political progress can be followed by a swing towards exclusion.

Her starting point is the Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time. The US Conference of Catholic Bishops lists 15 November 2026 as that Sunday and provides the readings for the day, including a passage from the First Letter to the Thessalonians.

History moves forward, then swings back

Howard-McParland says a civil-rights immersion experience in Montgomery and Selma shaped how she approached the readings. The history she encountered, she writes, offered a reminder that movement towards justice can be followed by a return to oppression.

She connects the legacy of slavery, lynching, Jim Crow and mass incarceration with present-day hostility towards immigrants and LGBTQ+ people. That comparison is part of her interpretation of the current moment, and leads her to see the readings through the lens of advocacy, family life, prayer and the Church.

What Paul’s message says about staying alert

In the reflection, the Thessalonians worry that members of their community might die before Christ returns. Howard-McParland reads Paul’s call to remain alert as a message against complacency: hope for a better future, she suggests, shouldn’t mean losing sight of the forces that could push progress backwards.

The scripture itself offers the basis for that theme. The US bishops’ reading page confirms the passage from First Thessalonians and its concern with those who have died and the timing of the Lord’s return. The political application, meanwhile, is Howard-McParland’s reflection on what readiness might mean now.

A record of representation, and a reason to keep going

There’s good news in the election milestones. Roll Call reports that Chris Pappas became the first openly gay man elected to the US Senate, alongside other firsts among candidates heading to the 120th Congress. Equality PAC says 18 openly LGBTQ+ candidates were elected, setting a new record for federal representation.

Howard-McParland welcomes that change, but argues it isn’t a reason to ease off. She urges readers to press lawmakers to restore equality protections and challenge anti-LGBTQ+, anti-immigrant and anti-DEI narratives. The reflection’s political point is a careful one: celebrate what’s possible, while staying attentive to who holds power and how it’s used.

Education and advocacy keep hope practical

For Howard-McParland, staying alert also means sharing stories and supporting education rooted in the Gospel. She points to the Sisters of Mercy’s Love and Abundant Justice work, which the congregation describes as supporting LGBTQ+ dignity, learning and inclusion.

Her closing image is the Beloved Community, held up alongside the people who came before and worked for justice. It gives the reflection a human measure of hope: not a promise that progress will take care of itself, but a reason to keep showing up.

Hope is worth celebrating; staying engaged is how we help it endure.

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