Jesus

Immigrants

Posted on by johnbarleycorn12

Many heresies begin not with outright rejection, but with an overemphasis of one truth at the expense of another. For instance: Jesus is God. Jesus is man. He is both — fully divine and fully human. To over-emphasize one at the expense of the other is to stray from the truth. So, too, in the immigration debate: we must hold together the inviolable dignity of the migrant with the legitimate right of the nation to secure its borders. I hear, justly so, a robust defense of the first principle. The second, however, is too often ignored. Why? There are numerous prudential questions that fold into the second principle. What constitutes order? How many migrants are sustainable? What level of assimilation is required for social cohesion? These are difficult questions to ask, let alone answer. Our current debate also seems to start with an assumption that every migrant is a vulnerable person fleeing oppression. And likewise, Western societies must accept them all — no questions asked.  But here in my hometown of Denver, the criminal Tren de Aragua gang has ruined the lives of the poorest citizens and migrants in the shadows. They quickly came in and began trafficking in sex, human labor, drugs, weapons, and offered hit men at a low price.Which brings us to Catholic teaching on migration. A faithful Catholic approach to immigration begins not with politics but with people — with the conviction that every migrant bears the face of Christ. Pope Leo’s reminder that “the Church has always recognized in migrants a living presence of the Lord” strikes directly at the heart of our moral duty. We stand entirely with him. Compassion, hospitality, and solidarity with the poor are not optional virtues; they are at the center of the Gospel. Yet, Catholic teaching also holds that charity is never opposed to order. The Catechism is explicit: nations have the right — and rulers the duty — to regulate their borders prudently for the sake of the common good. Welcoming the stranger and safeguarding one’s own citizens are not contradictory; they are complementary duties rooted in justice. We cannot pretend that previous administrations upheld the common good through their immigration policies. Failure to secure the border, to enforce laws, or to ensure safe and legal processes is not mercy — it is neglect. A truly Catholic vision demands more: a system that protects the vulnerable, honors the law, and preserves the moral fabric of the nation. And this is why what occurred outside an ICE facility in suburban Chicago on Saturday can be criticized as politicization of the Blessed Sacrament. A priest chose to lead a Eucharistic procession flanked by activists in bright yellow vests toward a federal office, arriving on a weekend when no officials would even be present, only to lament to the cameras that “no ICE or Federal representatives were there.”  Any Catholic with a beating heart recognizes the moral call to bring Christ to the suffering, including migrants and the imprisoned. The Church has a duty to ensure access to Confession and Holy Communion for detainees; that is non-negotiable.  But that sacred mission is often accomplished through fidelity, order, and perseverance, as the Bishops of Florida have shown in securing sacramental access for detainees through established channels, without spectacle, without turning the Eucharist into a gesture of protest. How do I know this? Because my team assisted the bishops with their requests to get the sacraments into “Alligator Alcatraz.” And we would happily do so for the detainees at the Broadview, Illinois, ICE detention center.  I want Jesus to be brought to every person. Bring him to the prisons!  Just this weekend the Most Reverend Michael Olson, Bishop of Fort Worth (TX),  baptized and confirmed seven women incarcerated at FMC Carswell Fort Worth — in person and without fanfare. That’s a model for us. The Holy Eucharist is not a political symbol, but the Body and Blood of Christ. Its reception must be preceded by catechesis, repentance, and spiritual readiness — especially in situations of incarceration, where pastoral accompaniment is essential. I want the people in that ICE Detention Center — and every such facility — to have Jesus. I also know, however, that this nation has a moral duty to uphold its laws for the sake of the common good. For this reason, we should not demonize the officials upholding that principle of the immigration stance of our Church. May we work toward a society where justice and mercy walk hand in hand — where the vulnerable are protected, the dangerous restrained, and every soul given the chance to encounter the transforming love of Christ. That is the truly Catholic response to immigration: not fear, not theater — but truth, charity and hope. And a healthy tension between the two truths of immigration. Go forward bravely,Kelsey ReinhardtPresident, CatholicVote

Word for Today

Posted on by johnbarleycorn12

Gospel

Jn 11:1-45

Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Laz′arus was ill. So the sisters sent to him, saying, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.” But when Jesus heard it he said, “This illness is not unto death; it is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified by means of it.”

Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when he heard that he was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was. Then after this he said to the disciples, “Let us go into Judea again.” The disciples said to him, “Rabbi, the Jews were but now seeking to stone you, and are you going there again?” Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours in the day? If any one walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. But if any one walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.” Thus he spoke, and then he said to them, “Our friend Laz′arus has fallen asleep, but I go to awake him out of sleep.” The disciples said to him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.” Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that he meant taking rest in sleep. Then Jesus told them plainly, “Laz′arus is dead; and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.” Thomas, called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”

Now when Jesus came, he found that Laz′arus had already been in the tomb four days. Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off, and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them concerning their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, while Mary sat in the house. Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. And even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.” Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and whoever lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” She said to him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, he who is coming into the world.”

When she had said this, she went and called her sister Mary, saying quietly, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.” And when she heard it, she rose quickly and went to him. Now Jesus had not yet come to the village, but was still in the place where Martha had met him. When the Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary rise quickly and go out, they followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there. Then Mary, when she came where Jesus was and saw him, fell at his feet, saying to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled; and he said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” Jesus wept. So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”

Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb; it was a cave, and a stone lay upon it. Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days.” Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?” So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, “Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. I knew that thou hearest me always, but I have said this on account of the people standing by, that they may believe that thou didst send me.” When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, “Laz′arus, come out.” The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with bandages, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”

Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what he did, believed in him.

Readings are from Dynamic Catholic’s New Testament Bible: RSV Catholic Edition