In places throughout the world and in moments of great social duress, such as in Poland during the Solidarity movement and El Salvador during St. Oscar Romero’s episcopate, “people’s Masses” have been organized by grassroots Catholic communities. The goal of these Masses has been to proclaim the faith; inspire hope and courage; denounce authoritarianism, economic exploitation and violations of human rights; and call for repentance and conversion. 

Several hundred Catholics and people of faith gathered on Sept. 13 to celebrate a people’s Mass, or Misa popular, outside the gates of the Great Lakes Naval Station in the city of North Chicago. (The Mass was organized by the Coalition for Spiritual and Public Leadership, a Catholic and Christian-rooted community organizing alliance of which I am the executive director.)

Several hundred gathered on Sept. 13 to show their support for the immigrant community outside the gates of the Great Lakes Naval Station in the city of North Chicago.(Courtesy Coalition for Spiritual and Public Leadership)

With the naval station in the backdrop of the altar, our people’s Mass was convened to proclaim God’s enduring love for and commitment to migrants and refugees, to those who are oppressed and exploited, and to those whose lives are discarded by the powerful and corrupt. In proclaiming this Gospel message, we also denounced the current campaign by ICE to criminalize, detain and deport our fellow family members, parishioners, friends and neighbors under the banner of Operation Midway Blitz, a term designated by the Trump administration. The naval station was chosen as the site for the people’s Mass and procession because the Pentagon has approved it as a staging ground for local operations by the Department of Homeland Security and by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

In recent weeks, President Trump has repeatedly threatened to deploy the National Guard to Chicago, ostensibly to clean up a city that he has called a “hellhole” and a “mess.” Millions of our fellow Americans in Los Angeles have already endured a military deployment coupled with an aggressive ICE operation. Meanwhile, Washington, D.C., is still under National Guard occupation, which means the threat of deployment in other U.S. cities and states is something we have to assess soberly.

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Mr. Trump’s willingness to deploy military troops against the wishes of democratically elected leaders of American states and cities is an alarming sign that we have already entered into a state of authoritarianism. A recent podcast by Ezra Klein of The New York Times outlines how Mr. Trump is building what could be called his own paramilitary force through a dramatic expansion of ICE’s budget and workforce. It should be troubling to all of us that there is a rapidly growing force of masked ICE agents roaming our cities and streets who feel emboldened to act with impunity.

With ICE operations well underway in neighborhoods throughout Chicago and in villages across Illinois, news quickly spread on Sept. 12 that an immigrant father had been shot and killed by an ICE agent during a traffic stop in the Chicago suburb of Franklin Park. What occurred during the traffic stop continues to be heavily contested. The devoted father of two, Silverio Villegas-Gonzalez, known by many of his neighbors for being a kind soul, had just dropped off one of his children at school. Shortly after the killing, representatives of ICE and D.H.S. were quick to justify their actions by portraying Mr. Villegas-Gonzalez as a criminal. His lawyer swiftly rejected those accusations and joined a growing chorus of residents and state and federal officials who have called for a full investigation into the incident.

A week before Mr. Villegas-Gonzalez’s death, a large group of members, priests and Catholic sisters from the Coalition for Spiritual and Public Leadership, along with other community representatives, began planning the people’s Mass and procession. After a period of collective discussion and discernment, we decided to proceed with a people’s Mass across the street from the Great Lakes Naval Station, followed by a nonviolent procession to the front of the gates of the military facility.

After intensive preparations to plan a bilingual Mass, identify the exact location at the sprawling military base, coordinate with representatives from local government and law enforcement, identify safety marshals, and arrange buses and transportation for the hourlong drive outside of the city, the day of our Mass arrived. Despite a week of rising temperatures and sunny days, the morning began with a torrential downpour. Miraculously, the clouds cleared and the forceful winds subsided just before the Mass began.

As part of the liturgical program for the people’s Mass, we chose to honor Mr. Villegas-Gonzalez’s life and to pray for his soul and for his family. It was important to us that we humanize and dignify a father, a neighbor and a child of God. We were all deeply shaken. There is no way to know what ran through his mind during that fatal encounter, but he must have been utterly desperate to return home to his children, as we all would be, while he was surrounded by agents.

We honored Mr. Villegas-Gonzalez’s life and the many others from our parishes and communities who have been detained and deported. We put faces and names to the palpable fear, anxiety and outrage that we had been hearing and feeling throughout the week. Our religious rituals and spiritual practices invite us to allow the deep pain, agony and heartbreak of this moment in our country to reach the depths of our hearts, minds and souls. The breaking open of our hearts allows us to connect with God’s compassion, love, sympathy and righteous anger.

The Holy Spirit moves not only in our sanctuaries but also in the streets, in city halls, and even outside and within military bases. This spirit invites us into a state of what Jon Sobrino, S.J., has called “political holiness,” a marriage of contemplative spirituality with public action rooted in the endless wellspring of our Catholic rituals, symbols and faith teachings. We must bring to bear in the public square the prophetic tradition of our faith with courage, nonviolent fervor, strategic shrewdness and spiritual wisdom.

We are in the midst of a long and difficult pilgrimage that will require prayer, spiritual fortitude, and God’s presence and grace. We are spiritual people, and we must fill our cups with the spirit of courage to meet our present challenges, with discernment and wisdom to help light our path in the midst of darkness, and with the strength that comes from love. This is how we ensure that our minds, bodies and spirits are not poisoned by the violence and hatred that is so pervasive in our country. We must work creatively and collectively to create a just, humane and loving world.

Michael N. Okińczyc-Cruz is the executive director of the Coalition for Spiritual & Public Leadership and an adjunct professor at the Institute of Pastoral Studies at Loyola University of Chicago.