As we approach The Baptism of The Lord there are, I believe, some more points for reflection in these last days of the Celebration of the Birth of the Lord. This week is also National Migration Week. I can recall when as a student priest in Rome I initially struggled to learn another language, waiting in massive crowds to obtain a permesso di soggiorno (permit to stay) at a police station in Rome, trying to learn, understand and live in another culture. It was a time of great change and uncertainty for me. In the long run it was a time of blessing as well. Perhaps I took for granted the privileges of citizenship. In the process of seeking permission to travel in a foreign country I learned the tentativeness of my own studies abroad, even in a Catholic country. Along with a host of experiences over those four years, and my own ministry as both priest and bishop I have gained some empathy and understanding for what Catholic (and other) immigrants experience in foreign countries. Certainly their experiences are unique and worth pausing to consider.
The life of the Diocese of Fort Worth is marked and made stronger by so many immigrants from all over the world: Mexico, Central and South America, Vietnam, Korea, India, Ghana, Nigeria (along with other African countries) and Croatia. However, it doesn't stop there. Recently, I met with Bishop Raymund Sumlut Gam from the Diocese of Banmaw, Myanmar who traveled to the United States and stopped in Fort Worth to see first hand the needs of refugees from his own country who have gained asylum in the United States but little else as they struggle for a new identity and place in the world. The life of the local Church is stronger because of all of these families who bring us new life and their Faith. I believe it can be said that we are all of immigrant families, and our families (Irish, German and European countries in the first waves of immigration to our shores) brought with them their hopes, dreams and fears to this country in search of a new life. Let us think of ourselves first as Catholics, and what this means to be "Universal", which is one of the four marks of the Church. In these days, which are collectively designated National Migration Week by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, when we think of the journey of the Magi and their migration in response to Faith (the newborn Christ Child) we can take to heart some of the words of Pope Benedict XVI:
Pope Benedict XVI, from "Message for the Ninety-Third"In this misfortune experienced by the Family of Nazareth, obliged to take refuge in Egypt, we can catch a glimpse of the painful condition in which all migrants life, especially refugees, exiles, evacuees, internally displaced persons, those who are persecuted. We can take a quick look at the difficulties that every migrant family lives through, the hardships and humiliations, the deprivation and fragility of millions and millions of migrants, refugees, and internally displaced people. The Family of Nazareth reflects the image of God safeguarded in the heart of every human family, even if disfigured and weakened by emigration."
World Day of Migrants and Refugees" October 18, 2006