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Feast of the Holy Innocents

Readings of the Day
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"Rise, take the
child and his mother, flee to Egypt and stay there until I tell you.
Herod is
going to search for the child to destroy him."

As we reflect on
today's reading from Matthew, we see Jesus incarnate in the
families fleeing
for their lives and arriving at our southern border.  We see
Jesus incarnate in the babies and children
separated from their mothers and fathers without reason or care. 
We see Jesus incarnate in the babies and
children huddled in shelters and sleeping on the streets of Matamoros,
Nuevo
Laredo, Juarez and Tijuana with their mothers and fathers, waiting to
be
received and welcomed by us in the land of plenty.   The
"Herod" of extreme violence and poverty
propels them north to protect their lives and seek dignity.  And
the "Herod" of many of our countrymen and women reject
them and leave their lives in
danger.   And like Rachel, we see mothers
weeping without consolation for their children.  

John, in the
first reading, reminds us that God is light. 
He instructs that when we walk in the light, we have fellowship with
one
another and are cleansed from all sin. 
Despite the many "Herods" in our society and across the
country,
there are just as many or more who walk in light, who are in
fellowship with
our immigrant brothers and sisters at the border.  
Religious, non-profit workers and volunteers
join hands and hearts to alleviate their suffering.  This
fellowship is more important than
ever.  We must raise our voices and stand
by and with the men, women and children stranded at our borders in
their pleas
for protection and dignity. 

 

 

Anna Gallagher
is the Executive Director of the Catholic Legal Immigration Network,
Inc.
(CLINIC).   CLINIC promotes the dignity
and protects the rights of immigrants with our network of immigration
legal
service provides in 49 states and the District of
Columbia.   CLINIC's project - the Estamos
Unidos Asylum
Project - assists men, women and children in Ciudad de Juarez,
Mexico who are
seeking asylum in the United States. Gallagher is spending Christmas
week in
Juarez, providing Know Your Rights presentations and assisting asylum
seekers
to prepare their applications.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 




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