Preaching in Native American communities responding to generational trauma

Despite his advanced studies in Scripture, it wasn’t until Victor Cancino, S.J., became the resident pastor at St. Ignatius Mission on the Flathead Indian Reservation in Western Montana that he properly grasped the Bible’s deep connections with Native American spirituality and practices. “The Bible is from a tribal world with a spirituality that is as old as the people that I’m living with,” Victor says. “We completely forget that and we think of this Roman-Greco society that looks like us, but the Bible looks a lot like tribal people.” On “Preach,” Victor delivers a homily for the Second Sunday of Advent, Year B, focusing on the image of the desert presented in the first reading from Isaiah. In the conversation that follows the homily, host Ricardo da Silva, S.J., and Victor explore how the preacher might respond to generational trauma in marginalized communities, such as the people he works with on the reservation. Read the full text of this week’s homily and Scripture readings. Do you have a preacher to recommend for Preach? Let us know here. Get daily Scripture reflections and support "Preach" by becoming a digital subscriber to America Magazine. “Preach” is made possible through the generous support of the Compelling Preaching Initiative, a project of Lilly Endowment Inc.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices