Immigration Revisited

The newspapers are full of heartrending stories of immigrants drowning or turned back as they try to escape from the war-torn countries of Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, and parts of Africa. We also have refugees risking their lives to cross our borders to come to the United States. These migrants are fleeing to Europe and the U.S, for a safer, better life for their families, and who can blame them? Wouldn't any of us flee from persecution and hunger, especially to save our children? These are human beings, not "collateral damage." These are our brothers and sisters who have the same Father. These are the ones of whom Jesus says in Matthew 25: "I was hungry and you gave me food; I was homeless and you welcomed me. . ." Sure, they disturb our complacency, our comfortable lives. Sure, we may have to endure some disruptions to our regular schedules. Sure, we may have to go out of our way to make room for them. But how can we call ourselves Christian if we allow them to die at our borders? How can we call ourselves human, if we treat them as expendable baggage? For too long Western nations have taken their secure, comfortable lives for granted. For too long we have been indifferent to the dire situations of neighboring countries. I am glad to hear Germany and Austria and a few others are taking in more refugees and encouraging other European countries to do the same. I also hope the U.S. will fix our broken immigration laws soon and act in a more humane way.

A migrant man and boy blocked by Macedonian police near Idomeni, northern Greece, 21 August 2015
At  Greece-Macedonia border migrants try to head north.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Image
  Limping to God I come to you, God, weather-beaten and limping, asking for forgiveness for all the times I have failed to be faithful and attentive to all those around me, especially the elderly who have run the race, the poor, the lonely and abandoned, who need my care and concern.     Is there any hope for these old bones? What will it take to change my limp into a surge of energy and a ready step? Teach me to become more caring, more responsive, more aware. Give me eyes to see and the will to act on my good intentions.   Water my dried up spirit and shriveled body, expand my shrunken heart. Give me eyes to see what you are leading me to do even as my bones creak and my legs become unsteady. Make me remember that I am here to serve, to listen, to be ready to be your hands and feet today.   Barbara Mayer, OSB    
Read more
Image
    “Wonderfully Made” When I took a college English course, our first assignment was to write an essay about whether we would rather lose our sight or lose our legs. It was a thought-provoking choice. If we became blind, we would miss seeing our loved ones and all the beauty of our world. If we could not walk, we would be hindered from traveling and moving around without help. I chose to keep my eyesight since I love to read and write and enjoy the variety and beauty that surrounds us.   Of course, I’m glad I didn’t have to make that choice in real life, but it was a thought-provoking assignment. It made me think about how much we take our bodies for granted. I began to think about all the organs, veins, arteries, canals, nerves, and bones we have in our bodies and how they all work together to keep us alive and healthy. It is not until we lose one of them that we realize how magnificent we are, created in the “image and likeness of God.” God loves each and every one of us as if
Read more
Image
  Overcoming Discouragement Sometimes discouragement and failure take over our lives, and we cannot seem to crawl out of our hole. Even if in reality they are not a true picture, we can be blinded by the seeming darkness.  It often takes another person to uncover what is hidden from us and to see through the cloudy picture.  I am reminded of a story about Bill Wilson, the founder of Alcoholics Anonymous. He tells of how he felt his dream of starting a group for people with drinking problems was not going anywhere. Then unexpectedly Father Dowling, a disheveled priest, came to his door in the middle of a snowstorm. Bill’s caretaker told him that a “damn bum” was at the door. Bill was tired but agreed to see him and in doing so had his “second conversion experience.” Bil and Father Dowling talked way into the night, and Bill told of his “high hopes and plans, and spoke about his anger, despair and mounting frustrations.”  It turned out that the elderly priest had had similar feel
Read more