A Reflection for the Memorial of the Presentation of the Virgin Mary

They could find no way to accomplish their purpose because all the people were hanging on his words.

Find today’s readings here.

Back in June, Bishop Michael M. Pham of San Diego, Calif., along with several other Catholic clergy and interfaith leaders, chose to hold a public witness at the Edward J. Schwartz Federal Building there, where they planned to simply be present in the courtrooms while immigration cases were heard. They hoped to listen to and accompany migrants. 

What happened next made national headlines. Father Santarosa told OSVNews that the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents there “all kind of scampered away and disappeared” upon the priests’ arrival. “Someone also told me that the ICE agents presented the paperwork for the people they were going after, but they didn’t stick around to get them because of our presence,” he said.

The story reminds me of today’s Gospel in which the chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people are trying to put Jesus to death, but they are thwarted because “all the people are hanging on his words.” In just a few words, so much is implied: the people are gathering and they are listening. And that makes a difference. 

The interfaith witness at the courthouse shows that those same actions still can protect Christ in our midst—and such efforts are still very much needed. As the Trump administration works to silence the voices of immigrants, to force migrants out of our country, and to silence those who support them, we must think carefully about which voices will guide our actions.

Thankfully, there are many still worth listening to. The “One Church, One Family” campaign united Catholics across the country in public prayer and rallies on behalf of immigrants on Nov. 13, the feast day of Mother Frances Xavier Cabrini, an immigrant saint. And the same week, the U.S. bishops joined their voices in overwhelmingly unified support of migrants in a special pastoral message. It reads, in part, “To our immigrant brothers and sisters, we stand with you in your suffering, since, when one member suffers, all suffer (cf. 1 Corinthians 12:26). You are not alone!” Their statement shows that they, too, are gathering and listening.  

Jesus said, “For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me.” 

Let all of us hang on every word. And may these words define our actions.

Kerry Weber joined the staff of America in October 2009. Her writing and multimedia work have since earned several awards from the Catholic Press Association, and in 2013 she reported from Rwanda as a recipient of Catholic Relief Services' Egan Journalism Fellowship. Kerry is the author of Mercy in the City: How to Feed the Hungry, Give Drink to the Thirsty, Visit the Imprisoned, and Keep Your Day Job (Loyola Press) and Keeping the Faith: Prayers for College Students (Twenty-Third Publications). A graduate of Providence College and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, she has previously worked as an editor for Catholic Digest, a local reporter, a diocesan television producer, and as a special-education teacher on the Navajo reservation in Arizona.