From Our Pastor
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I am the son of an immigrant. My father came to the States from Ireland, married my mother, worked a number of difficult labor jobs, became a citizen, and brought up nine children. He was proud of his Catholic faith, his family, and his citizenship, and taught us to appreciate our heritage and to be thankful for the blessings that are ours as Americans. At the center of what he taught, by example, was to respect all people, regardless of their situations, created in God’s holy image.
At the core of our Catholic teachings beats the heart of the inherent dignity of every human life and our responsibility to see that presence, to defend it and to protect it. The Word of God expects nothing less from each of us- Scripture says that we will be judged on how we treated the immigrant, the vulnerable in our midst in this life. The parable of the Good Samaritan alone cuts to the core- the priest who shunned the vulnerable one was more concerned with how his actions appeared to others, while the Samaritan was more concerned about the one in need. We seem to be at a crossroads in our country- vitriol seems to be everywhere. We need to speak soberly and intentionally.
Is there abuse in this immigration system? Yes. There is, as is everywhere, evil in the midst of good, and we must be vigilant to protect the vulnerable, in a nation with a system broken and in need of correction, in a nation with the highest population of imprisoned people on earth. Painting an entire wave of people fleeing from countries beset by violence we cannot begin to understand as criminals, so many who only wish to live in peace and dignity- like each of us- this represents the worst in us, like those who persecuted generations of immigrants before them, including those of our various nationalities. We have always been a nation of immigrants- we will always be, and we need to remember that this diversity that makes us strong- it has for nearly 250 years of breathtaking change. When we forget this, we lose our character, our mission, our identity.
We are a country born of diversity- with words etched on the Statue of Liberty to receive those who our world dismisses, calling out to us to show compassion and respect to the stranger in our midst as one of us, representing the best of us. Former Vice President Hubert Humphrey in 1972 challenged our nation in the midst of doubt and paranoia to act not on its fears but its hopes. We cannot and will not bow to the cries for retribution out of fear, we will not give in to the voice of the angry mob, but we will speak courageously and stand resolutely with Christ to promote the dignity of every person on this earth.
As members of the Body of Christ, we are expected by our Savior to be the first to reach out, to be the ones who welcome the family in need, the children in crises, the people dreaming of what we far too often take for granted. Simply put, every human being deserves the blessings of freedom that we receive every day. As Catholics, may we be the ones who find the hope, seek justice, and act in hope for a better and more just society, nation and world. In this period of harsh tones on every side, threats and acts of violence and doubt, may our words and actions of mercy, compassion and justice shine brightly to others.
It is very fair to say that my father lived the American Dream. Devoted to his God, wife, family, and his country, he made this world a better place by his acts of gratitude for the blessings he received. May we appreciate the blessings that we’ve received by our generosity in sharing them and helping others make this truly a nation dedicated to the belief that all men and women are created equally. If we achieve this, not only will we make our lives and country stronger and better, so will our world be better, to the glory of God.
Fr. John Sheridan
Catholic Social Teaching on Immigration and the Movement of Peoples
Biblical Vision of Love for Strangers:
Both the Old and New Testaments tell compelling stories of refugees forced to flee because of oppression. Exodus tells the story of the Chosen People, Israel, who were victims of bitter slavery in Egypt. They were utterly helpless by themselves, but with God’s powerful intervention they were able to escape and take refuge in the desert. For forty years they lived as wanderers with no homeland of their own. Finally, God fulfilled his ancient promise and settled them on the land that they could finally call home.
The Israelites’ experience of living as homeless aliens was so painful and frightening that God ordered his people for all time to have special care for the alien: “You shall treat the alien who resides with you no differently than the natives born among you; have the same love for him as for yourself; for you too were once aliens in the land of Egypt” (Lv 19:33-34).
The New Testament begins with Matthew’s story of Joseph and Mary’s escape to Egypt with their newborn son, Jesus, because the paranoid and jealous King Herod wanted to kill the infant. Our Savior himself lived as a refugee because his own land was not safe. Jesus reiterates the Old Testament command to love and care for the stranger, a criterion by which we shall be judged: “For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty, and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me” (Mt 25:35).
The Apostle Paul asserts the absolute equality of all people before God: “There is neither Jew nor Greek . . . for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Gal 3:28). In Christ, the human race is one before God, equal in dignity and rights.
Three Basic Principles of Catholic Social Teaching on Immigration
Although Catholic theology has always promoted human rights rooted in natural law and God’s revelation, it was the encyclical Rerum Novarum (On the Condition of Labor) in 1891 that developed a systematic presentation of principles of the rights and responsibilities of people. Rerum Novarum commented on the situation of immigrants; in later documents, popes and bishops’ conferences have synthesized the Catholic theological tradition to articulate three basic principles on immigration.
First Principle: People have the right to migrate to sustain their lives and the lives of their families.
At the end of World War II, with the fall of the Nazi empire and the subsequent creation of the Soviet “Iron Curtain,” Europe faced an unprecedented migration of millions of people seeking safety, food, and freedom. At that time, Pope Pius XII wrote Exsul Familia (The Emigre Family), placing the Church squarely on the side of those seeking a better life by fleeing their homes.
When there is a massive movement of people such as during a war, natural disaster, or famine, the lands that receive these displaced people may be threatened. The influx may make it impossible for the native population to live securely, as the land may not have enough resources to support both. Even in more orderly migrations, such as in the United States, citizens and residents of the land may fear that newcomers will take jobs, land, and resources, impoverishing the people already present.
Because of the belief that newcomers compete for scarce resources, immigrants and refugees are at times driven away, resented, or despised. Nevertheless, the first principle of Catholic social teaching regarding immigrants is that people have the right to migrate to sustain their lives and the lives of their families. This is based on biblical and ancient Christian teaching that the goods of the earth belong to all people. While the right to private property is defended in Catholic social teaching, individuals do not have the right to use private property without regard for the common good.
Every person has an equal right to receive from the earth what is necessary for life—food, clothing, shelter. Moreover, every person has the right to education, medical care, religion, and the expression of one’s culture. In many places people live in fear, danger, or dehumanizing poverty. Clearly, it is not God’s will that some of his children live in luxury while others have nothing. In Luke’s Gospel, the rich man was condemned for living well while the poor man starved at his doorstep (Lk 16:19-31). The native does not have superior rights over the immigrant. Before God all are equal; the earth was given by God to all. When a person cannot achieve a meaningful life in his or her own land, that person has the right to move.
Second Principle: A country has the right to regulate its borders and to control immigration.
The overriding principle of all Catholic social teaching is that individuals must make economic, political, and social decisions not out of shortsighted self-interest, but with regard for the common good. That means that a moral person cannot consider only what is good for his or her own self and family but must act with the good of all people as his or her guiding principle.
While individuals have the right to move in search of a safe and humane life, no country is bound to accept all those who wish to resettle there. By this principle the Church recognizes that most immigration is ultimately not something to celebrate. Ordinarily, people do not leave the security of their own land and culture just to seek adventure in a new place or merely to enhance their standard of living. Instead, they migrate because they are desperate and the opportunity for a safe and secure life does not exist in their own land. Immigrants and refugees endure many hardships and often long for the homes they left behind. As Americans we should cherish and celebrate the contributions of immigrants and their cultures; however, we should work to make it unnecessary for people to leave their own land.
Because there seems to be no end to poverty, war, and misery in the world, developed nations will continue to experience pressure from many peoples who desire to resettle in their lands. Catholic social teaching is realistic: While people have the right to move, no country has the duty to receive so many immigrants that its social and economic life are jeopardized.
For this reason, Catholics should not view the work of the federal government and its immigration control as negative or evil. Those who work to enforce our nation’s immigration laws often do so out of a sense of loyalty to the common good and compassion for poor people seeking a better life. In an ideal world, there would be no need for immigration control. The Church recognizes that this ideal world has not yet been achieved.
Third Principle: A country must regulate its borders with justice and mercy.
The second principle of Catholic social teaching may seem to negate the first principle. However, principles one and two must be understood in the context of principle three. And all Catholic social teaching must be understood in light of the absolute equality of all people and the commitment to the common good. A country’s regulation of borders and control of immigration must be governed by concern for all people and by mercy and justice. A nation may not simply decide that it wants to provide for its own people and no others. A sincere commitment to the needs of all must prevail.
In our modern world where communication and travel are much easier, the burden of emergencies cannot be placed solely on nations immediately adjacent to the crises. Justice dictates that the world community contribute resources toward shelter, food, medical services, and basic welfare.
Even in the case of less urgent migrations, a developed nation’s right to limit immigration must be based on justice, mercy, and the common good, not on self-interest. Moreover, immigration policy ought to take into account other important values such as the right of families to live together. A merciful immigration policy will not force married couples or children to live separated from their families for long periods.
Undocumented immigrants present a special concern. Often their presence is considered criminal since they arrive without legal permission. Under the harshest view, undocumented people may be regarded as undeserving of rights or services. This is not the view of Catholic social teaching. The Catholic Church teaches that every person has basic human rights and is entitled to have basic human needs met—food, shelter, clothing, education, and health care. Undocumented persons are particularly vulnerable to exploitation by employers, and they are not able to complain because of the fear of discovery and deportation. Current immigration policy that criminalizes the mere attempt to immigrate and imprisons immigrants who have committed no crime or who have already served a just sentence for a crime is immoral. In the Bible, God promises that our judgment will be based on our treatment of the most vulnerable. Before God we cannot excuse inhumane treatment of certain persons by claiming that their lack of legal status deprives them of rights given by the Creator.
Finally, immigration policy that allows people to live here and contribute to society for years but refuses to offer them the opportunity to achieve legal status does not serve the common good. The presence of millions of people living without easy access to basic human rights and necessities is a great injustice.
It is the position of the Catholic Church that pastoral, educational, medical, and social services provided by the Church are never conditioned on legal status. All persons are invited to participate in our parishes, attend our schools, and receive other services offered by our institutions and programs.
-United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
THE EUCHARIST
From the New Testament
Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my
blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I
have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me (John 6:54-57).
I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but they died; this is the bread that comes down from heaven so
that one may eat it and not die (John 6:48-50).
But they urged him, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening and the day is almost over.” So he went in to stay with them.
And it happened that, while he was with them at table, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them.
With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him, but he vanished from their sight. (Luke 24: 21-31)
For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes (1 Corinthians 11:26)
Some Saint Quotes through the centuries
Justin Martyr First Apology 66 (A.D. 151). “We call this food Eucharist, and no one else is permitted to partake of it, except one
who believes our teaching to be true and who has been washed in the washing which is for the remission of sins and for regeneration
[i.e., has received baptism] and is thereby living as Christ enjoined. For not as common bread nor common drink do we receive
these; but since Jesus Christ our Savior was made incarnate by the word of God and had both flesh and blood for our salvation, so
too, as we have been taught, the food which has been made into the Eucharist by the Eucharistic prayer set down by him, and by the
change of which our blood and flesh is nurtured, is both the flesh and the blood of that incarnated Jesus”
St Augustine: (354 – 430) “I promised you [new Christians], who have now been baptized, a sermon in which I would explain the
sacrament of the Lord’s Table. . . That bread which you see on the altar, having been sanctified by the word of God, is the body of
Christ. That chalice, or rather, what is in that chalice, having been sanctified by the word of God, is the blood of Christ” (Sermons
227 [A.D. 411]).
St Thomas Aquinas: (1224/6 – 1274) “The Eucharist is the sacrament of love: it signifies love, it produces love. The Eucharist is
the consummation of the whole spiritual life.”
St Francis de Sales: (1567 – 1622) “When the bee has gathered the dew of heaven and the earth’s sweetest nectar from the flow
ers, it turns it into honey, then hastens to its hive. In the same way, the priest, having taken from the altar the Son of God (who is as
the dew from heaven, and true son of Mary, flower of our humanity), gives him to you as delicious food.”
St Maximilian Kolbe: (1894 – 1941) “If angels could be jealous of men, they would be so for one reason: Holy Communion.”
Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati (1901– 1925) “With all the strength of my soul I urge you young people to approach the Commun
ion table as often as you can. Feed on this bread of angels whence you will draw all the energy you need to fight inner battles. Be
cause true happiness, dear friends, does not consist in the pleasures of the world or in earthly things, but in peace of conscience,
which we have only if we are pure in heart and mind.”
Eucharistic Saints:
Tarcisius was a twelve-year-old acolyte during one of the fierce Roman persecutions in the third century and was martyred while
bringing the Eucharist to condemned Christians in prison. He preferred death at the hands of a mob rather than deliver to them the
Blessed Sacrament which he was carrying.
St Catherine of Siena (1347—1380) was canonized in 1461, made a doctor of the Church, and is one of a small group of saints
known as Eucharistic saints who dedicated themselves to the consumption and spiritual nourishment of the Eucharist.
Blessed Carlo Acutis (3 May 1991– 12 October 2006) was a British-born teenager, primarily of Italian ancestry, known for his devotion to the Eucharist… with him creating a website documenting Eucharistic miracles prior to his death from leukemia at the age of fifteen. His canonization is set to take place on 7 September 2025.
