On Sunday, March 23, guests from St. Adalbert Parish and St. Casimir Parish in South Bend were invited to Mass at St. Augustine Parish followed by an hourlong panel discussion on immigration. The goal was for attendees to grow more knowledgeable about immigration and to pray in solidarity together. The theme of the program was “Hope for the Holy: Solidarity with Christ the Immigrant.” I served as homilist at the Mass and the panel’s facilitator. In my homily, I said the Statue of Liberty once beckoned to the hearts of immigrants, “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.” Now, too often, America is saying: “We’re tired of your poor. Don’t come here.” Far too many Americans accept that all 11 million undocumented immigrants in the United States are criminals and therefore dangerous. In truth, the vast majority are law abiding – and being undocumented is a civil offense, not a criminal one. The increase in dehumanizing rhetoric ferments a culture of fear, discrimination, and oppression. Provided by Deacon Mel TardyPanelists and attendees discuss immigration at an event on Sunday, March 23, at St. Augustine Parish in South Bend. We are called to see such immigrants as holy and to walk in solidarity with them. Pope Francis said at the 2024 World Day of Migrants and Refugees that God walks with migrants and within them. As I noted in the homily at St. Augustine, the Hebrews migrated from slavery and oppression in Egypt to the Promised Land accompanied by the Shekinah Glory – God in a pillar of fire and cloud – and by the dwelling tent wherein the Holy of Holies resided in their midst. Similarly today, God dwells in the midst of poor or oppressed migrants and always hears their cries to heaven of injustice. Moreover, all Christians are holy by virtue of their baptism into the holy Body of Christ; a baptism the Catholic Church recognizes even if (validly) baptized through a different Christian denomination. Jesus Himself not only chose to descend from a nation of immigrants – from Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob – but He chose to live as an immigrant, an asylum-seeker, and a refugee who was fleeing from Herod’s slaughter of innocents. Therefore, to walk with the hungry, the naked, or the imprisoned migrant is to encounter Jesus, the Living God. To persecute them is to persecute Jesus Himself. To deny them justice is to deny Jesus due process. For as Matthew 25 states: “Whatever you did for the least of my brethren, you did for me. … Whatever you did not do for them, you did not do for me.” We as a nation of immigrants could indeed become a nation of holiness if we simply remembered who – and whose – we are. As it says in Exodus 22:21, “You shall not oppress or afflict a resident alien, for you were once aliens yourselves residing in the land of Egypt.” In the narrative of Good Friday, they were blind to Christ in their midst; and we risk repeating the offense today. There is hope that our nation will stop dehumanizing, demoralizing, and demonizing our immigrant brothers and sisters once we recognize within them the suffering face of Christ. In his book, “A Theology of Migration,” Holy Cross Father Daniel Groody proposed that Jesus was more than a migrant in the human sense, but a migrant from heaven. He chose to become a stranger in a foreign land in order to make a better life for us, His loved ones to come. He overcame humiliation, suffering, and death in order to accompany us in solidarity on that great pilgrimage to heaven, our true home. Likewise, we are called to walk in solidarity with immigrants and with Christ. This is the hope of the Eucharist. No matter what seeks to divide our human family, the Eucharist calls us to unite in solidarity – for in Christ, we have become one pilgrim body on the same journey home. After Mass, at the panel discussion, stories were shared of the suffering of family members, from ancestors down to the present, but also of hope. Attendees received vocabulary to discuss immigration – for example, the differences between refugees and asylum-seekers – and learned that everyone in America (not just immigrants) has an “immigration status.” They also learned that the U.S. Constitution often refers to “persons” rather than “citizens,” meaning that everyone on U.S. soil – including immigrants – is entitled to the same constitutional rights (although, in practice, there can be challenges). Perhaps of most benefit was the sharing of personal stories, including how recent changes to immigration policy and tactics have affected real people day to day and on a human level, from adults to children. One panel participant, Londy Perkins, shared that “being part of the Solidarity Panel as a member of St. Adalbert’s Social Justice Ministry in St. Augustine Parish was a meaningful experience that reflected our faith in action, showcasing the power of unity, compassion, and God’s love in our community.” She added that “it was inspiring to collaborate with others who are dedicated to justice, equity, and service, living out the Gospel call to care for the most vulnerable among us.” Of the event itself, Perkins called it “a testament to the strength of solidarity and the power of faith, reminding us that real change happens when we come together with a shared purpose, guided by Christ’s teachings and a commitment to making a difference in the world.” The post Immigration Brings Communities Together in South Bend appeared first on Today's Catholic. ...read more read less