Today we witness another innocent child breathing her last, sinking into unavoidable death, the victim of squalor hunger, and disease.

Pope Francis cries out for mercy and relief for the many children who flee north from violence and poverty only to find themselves caught in the cross hairs of hunger, filth, and loneliness. Separated from their families, they languish in despair. All they sought was a doorway to freedom, but that door was slammed shut through brutal acts of incarceration.

Not only is this dreadful moment happening on our southern border, but similar circumstances are present around the world, in places such as North Korea, Syria, and Sudan. Across our endangered planet, we see ecological devastation; the absence of good work; lack of food, pure water, and abundant harvest.

We ask how we may navigate this perilous time and move forward into a more viable future.

Perhaps we can reflect on the gifts of science and religion. We can find wisdom and encouragement by recalling how humanity moved from believing in a static universe to understanding that the Earth rotates around the sun. We can remember the significant shift that occurred when humanity awakened to a consciousness of evolution. And we can remember the birth of psychology, which allowed us to distinguish between the conscious and unconscious mind. Perhaps today we are being summoned to the precipice of another new shift in human awareness.