By Father William J. Byron SJ | Catholic News Service

I do not recall the context, but I do remember that a student at then-Loyola College in Baltimore, where I taught in the 1960s, said to me on one occasion, "You know, Father, it is so incredible that it's almost unbelievable."

That's the sentence that kept running through my mind as I tried to process the news of Donald Trump's upset victory in the Nov. 8 election. As we all know, the man shoots from the lip, so we'll just have to sit and listen to what he says now and watch for change. Change seems to be what many voters wanted, although there is no way of predicting what changes might now occur.

A divided nation would surely benefit from a new infusion of unity and civility. Each of us could make a contribution to the healing that is needed. Our young people need a renewed sense of purpose. We elders can help them by offering encouragement.

There was not much mention made of faith or religion during the campaign. If you think of faith as the act by which you entrust yourself to God and religion as a way of getting reconnected to God, you can help make up for the faith-religion deficit of the campaign by simply trusting more now and consciously turning back toward the God who will never turn away from you.

The unemployed seemed to be losing hope as Election Day drew near; perhaps now renewed hope will spur them on and keep them in the "looking for work" category, which means still counting them in as members of the labor force.

Hope is an underutilized virtue in contemporary life. Hopefulness can be contagious. So let your hopefulness be seen by others and perhaps caught by those who need it most.

Vice President-elect Mike Pence, while governor of Indiana, refused to roll out the welcome mat for Syrian refugees. Then archbishop of Indianapolis, Joseph W. Tobin, defied Pence and took in some Syrian refugees. Now he is Cardinal-designate Tobin and the archbishop of Newark, New Jersey, where he will surely continue to welcome refugees and might perhaps, by his resistance, bring about a change of heart on the refugee question in the new Trump-Pence administration.

Many economists think that developing countries need trade, not aid; so the new administration's opposition to the North American Free Trade Act (NAFTA) may not prevail. There may be a change of heart in the Rust Belt's opposition to free trade that facilitated Trump's path to victory. We'll have to wait to see.

But if the principle of solidarity, an important element in the body of Catholic social teaching, regains a position of influence in public policymaking circles, there is a possibility that our self-interested opposition to trade will yield to a love-your-neighbor acceptance of trade as a way to help poor countries.

It is time for a fresh look (or a see-them-again-for-the-first-time review) of the principles of Catholic social teaching, especially, the principle of the common good. That body of thought, rooted in the teachings of Jesus, may well serve as the road map most likely to help us find our way in our effort to make this country great again.

As Psalm 27 puts it, "Take courage; be stouthearted, wait for the Lord." Let's give it a try.

Jesuit Father William J. Byron is professor of business and society at St. Joseph's University, Philadelphia. Email: [email protected].