September 29, 2019 - "World Day of Migrants & Refugees 2019"

Today marks the 105 ^th World Day of Migrants and Refugees 2019.  I want to devote the next two columns to Pope’s Francis Message for this occasion.
 
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Faith assures us that in a mysterious way the Kingdom of God is already present here on earth (cf. Gaudium et spes, 39).  Yet in our own time, we are saddened to see obstacles and opposition it encounters.  Violent conflicts and all-out wars continue to tear humanity apart; injustices and discrimination follow one upon the other; economic and social imbalances on a local or global scale prove difficult to overcome.  And above all it is the poorest of the poor and the most disadvantaged who pay the price.
 
The most economically advances societies are witnessing a growing trend towards extreme individualism which, combined with a utilitarian mentality and reinforced by the media, is producing a “globalization of indifference”.  In this scenario, migrants, refugees, displaced persons and victims of trafficking have become emblems of exclusion.  In addition to the hardships that their condition entails, they are also looked down upon and considered the source of all society’s ills.  That attitude is an alarm bell warning of the moral decline we will face if we continue to give ground to the throw-away culture.  In fact, if it continues, anyone who does not fall within the accepted norms of physical, mental, and social well-being is at risk of marginalization and exclusion.
 
For this reason, the presence of migrants and refugees—and of vulnerable people in general—is an invitation to recover some of these essential dimensions of our Christian existence and our humanity that risk being overlooked in a prosperous society.  That is why it is not just about migrants. When we show concern for them, we also show concern for ourselves, for everyone; in taking care of them, we all grow; in listening to them, we also give a voice to a part of ourselves that we may keep hidden because it is not well regarded nowadays.
 
“Take courage, it is I, do not be afraid!” (Mt 14:27). It is not just about migrants:  it is also about our fears. The signs of meanness we see around us heighten “our fear of ‘the other’, the unknown, the marginalized, the foreigner…We see this today in particular, faced with the arrival of migrants and refugees knocking on our door in search of protection, security and a better future.  To some extent, the fear is legitimate, also because the preparation for this encounter is lacking” (Homily in Sacrofano, 15 February 2019).  But the problem is not that we have doubts or fears.  The problem is when they condition our way of thinking and acting to the point of making us intolerant, closed and perhaps even—without realizing it—racist.  In this way, fear deprives us of the desire and the ability to encounter the other, the person different from myself; it deprives me of an opportunity to encounter the Lord (cf. Homily at Mass for the World Day of Migrants and Refugees.  14 January 2018).

“For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have?  Do not the tax collectors do the same?” (Mt 5:46).  It is not just about migrants:  it is about charity. Through works of charity, we demonstrate our faith (cf. Jas 2:18).  And the highest form of charity is that shown to those unable to reciprocate and perhaps even thank us in return.  “It is also about the face we want to give to our society and about the value of each human life…The progress of our peoples…depends above all on our openness to being touched and moved by those who knock at our door.  Their faces shatter and debunk all those false idols that can take over and ensnare our lives; idols that promise an illusory and momentary happiness blind to the sufferings of others” (Address at the Diocesan Caritas of Rabat, 30 March 2019).
 
“But a Samaritan traveler who came upon him was moved with compassion at the sight (Lk 10:33).  It is not just about migrants:  it is about our humanity.  Compassion motivated that Samaritan—for the Jews, a foreigner—not to pass by.  Compassion is a feeling that cannot be explained on a purely rational level.  Compassion strikes the most sensitive chords of our humanity, releasing a vibrant urge to “be a neighbor” to all those whom we see in difficulty.  As Jesus himself teaches us (cf. Mt 9:35-36; 14:13-14; 15:32-37), being compassionate means recognizing the suffering of the other and taking immediate action to soothe, heal, and save.  To be compassionate means to make room for that tenderness which today’s society so often asks us to repress.  “Opening ourselves to others does not lead to impoverishment, but rather enrichment, because it enables to be more human: to recognize ourselves as participants in a greater collectivity and to understand our life as a gift for others; to see the goal, not our own interests, but rather the good of humanity” (Address at the Heydar Allev Mosque in Baku, 2 October 2016).
 
Until next week,
Fr. John