Dear Friends,
Thank you for responding to the request we made last week, in which we asked you to contact your
representatives about the immigration dilemma. There was progress this week with the President deciding to
issue an executive order to stop the separation of families of those who enter the country seeking asylum. There
is still much work to be done on this issue, but it was one small step in the right direction.
As we know from Jesus’ teaching in the gospels, we will be judged at the heavenly gates on how we
treated the little ones – the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger. Jesus told us that how we treat these people is how
we treat him. I certainly do not want to hear Jesus say at the end of time, “Out of my sight you accursed into the
fires prepared for you since the foundation of the world because I was…and you did nothing.” Jesus was very
clear that what we do for the least of our brothers and sisters, we do to him.
All humans are called to a respect for each other that is unconditional and absolute. As the Catholic
Church so strongly teaches, the child, no matter how young, must be respected as one’s equal in dignity from the
moment of conception. The immigration issue is a pro-life issue in the mind of the Church as much as the issue
of abortion is a pro-life issue. The right of innocent life is primary, but next comes the right of every human
person to be respected for oneself – no matter who they are or where they live.
In April of this year, Pope Francis wrote: “Our defense of the innocent unborn, for example, needs to be
clear, firm and passionate. Equally sacred, however, are the lives of the poor, those already born, the destitute,
the abandoned.” The Pope is clear that in order to make a moral case for one of these issues, we have to make
the moral case for all of the issues. The struggle for many people is that they try to stay within the bounds of a
particular political party’s platform rather than seeking the correct moral ground. This fault lies with members of
both parties. The moral teaching of Jesus and Church do not fit into either party’s platform, they do not fit into
the culture’s definition of what is the left or the right, they are not easy or practical, they are simply the teachings
that come from God.
Some may say that following these teachings of Christ are an ideal. They are too demanding and not
really achievable in the real world. Like during the recent discussions on family life at the synod of bishops,
some would advocate that we lower the goals. Nevertheless, the church has always called everyone to sainthood.
It is not just for the few. It is for all of us. If it is an ideal, it is like drinkable water is an ideal, safe food is an
ideal, safe cars are an ideal and telling the truth is an ideal. It should be achievable. We can be pro-life in all
these areas. We can move from infantile selfishness to mature love. That is what disciples of Jesus do. With the
help of the Holy Spirit it can happen.
Some may think I am saying that God gets mad when we do not live as Jesus taught. That is not the case.
God’s position toward us is always the same, he loves us. What we learn from Jesus is that wrongful behavior
does not cause God to reject us; wrongful behavior causes us to reject God. By the way we live we can destroy
ourselves morally, personally, spiritually. And we know that with God’s help there are ways to live that vitalize
our ability to go out unselfishly in love to serve others and build up our strength. Sin does not cause us to incur
divine wrath, but it does cause us to sicken, to wither, to die, to reject the love of God. God’s grace empowers us
to recover and overcome our self-centeredness; to emerge from selfishness to love. With God’s help, I can love
others who do not love me.
Peace,
Fr. Damian