"We claim that there is a Spirit energizing this creation, and that Spirit we dare call holy; that Spirit we dare identify with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. In his power we fight against reductionisms. You are not merely — what? an old and disillusioned man who will die soon, or a middle-aged woman stuck with a job and desperately wanting to get out, or a young person feeling the fire in the belly begin to grow cold. You may be any of these. Death, panic, or disillusionment may be near for you, but you are not just that. I, for one, cannot give a full account of my dog, let alone another human being who confronts me as a mystery, who, yes, is marked for death, but, because of the fire of the Spirit with which he was born, is also destined for something beyond death. The priesthood of humanity fights against our giving-in to these reductionisms. You are not just someone who is part of the 'cycle of dung and death.' You are destined for something beyond your dying, and that destination is part of who you are right now, however old you are, however cynical you may have become, however diminished that flame may be within you. You are destined for God. To be human is to understand our destiny in him.
"This has concrete implications for our social and political life, because everyone we meet harbors that destiny within him or herself. We cherish it within us however deeply hidden that flame may be. There is a rabbinic saying: 'Every human being is preceded by a legion of angels crying "Make way for the image of God." It is very hard to believe that this is true in New York City, or London, or in any great city in the world. It is very hard in a city like New York, which has many dispossessed, many broken examples of humanity, to understand that human beings are the lively images of the One God. They are our brothers and sisters. They have within them too the terrific thing. The flame of humanity is as vital for them as it is for us if we are to keep human life human."
