Last Sunday, we were very happy to hear Fr. Michi Chihara of the Tsukuba Catholic Church remind us about Pope Francis' message to us all about his chosen theme for the World Day of Migrants and Refugees: Towards a Better World.
It was timely, coming after our calls for the restoration of the budget from Congress for Overseas Absentee Voting (please register your support for this appeal at change.org or please email your support to my email address below) and the appeal to the youth to register for the SK elections. It was also timely as we received the happy news that our rescued kababayan in Riyadh that we wrote about earlier has finally returned safely to the Philippines, back in the loving embrace of her family!
Last Sunday's sermon for migrants was also very special to me as it was my first time to reflect about Pope Francis' reminder that as migrants, "even the Holy Family of Nazareth experienced initial rejection: Mary "gave birth to her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling cloths, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn" (Lk 2:7). Jesus, Mary, and Joseph knew what it meant to leave their own country and become migrants: threatened by Herod's lust for power, they were forced to take flight and seek refuge in Egypt (cf. Mt 2:13-14). But the maternal heart of Mary and the compassionate heart of Joseph, the Protector of the Holy Family, never doubted that God would always be with them. Through their intercession, may that same firm certainty dwell in the heart of every migrant and refugee."
May all our overseas Filipinos and global migrants, like Mama Mary, who is honored this "Mary" month of October, never doubt that God is always with them wherever they are. May they also remember that Jesus, Mary, and Joseph themselves experienced being migrants!
You may be interested to reflect as well on some other highlights of Pope Francis' message below shared to us in our mass last Sunday:
"In our changing world, the growing phenomenon of human mobility emerges, to use the words of Pope Benedict XVI, as a "sign of the times."
While it is true that migrations often reveal failures and shortcomings on the part of states and the international community, they also point to the aspiration of humanity to enjoy a unity marked by respect for differences, by attitudes of acceptance and hospitality which enable an equitable sharing of the world's goods, and by the protection and the advancement of the dignity and centrality of each human being.
From the Christian standpoint, the reality of migration, like other human realities, points to the tension between the beauty of creation, marked by Grace and the Redemption, and the mystery of sin. Solidarity, acceptance, and signs of fraternity and understanding exist side by side with rejection, discrimination, trafficking and exploitation, suffering and death.
Particularly disturbing are those situations where migration is not only involuntary, but actually set in motion by various forms of human trafficking and enslavement. Now, "slave labour" is common coin! Yet despite the problems, risks and difficulties to be faced, great numbers of migrants and refugees continue to be inspired by confidence and hope; in their hearts they long for a better future, not only for themselves but for their families and those closest to them. "
"What is involved in the creation of "a better world"? The expression aims at an authentic and integral development, at efforts to provide dignified living conditions for everyone, at finding just responses to the needs of individuals and families, and at ensuring that God's gift of creation is respected, safeguarded and cultivated. The Venerable Paul VI described the aspirations of people today in this way: "to secure a sure food supply, cures for diseases and steady employment… to exercise greater personal responsibility; to do more, to learn more, and have more, in order to be more."
"Our hearts do desire something "more." Beyond greater knowledge or possessions, they want to "be" more. A better world will come about only if attention is first paid to individuals; if human promotion is integral, taking account of every dimension of the person, including the spiritual; if no one is neglected, including the poor, the sick, prisoners, the needy and the stranger.
Migrants and refugees are children, women and men who leave or who are forced to leave their homes for various reasons, who share a legitimate desire for knowing and having, but above all for being more. ..As the Church accompanies migrants and refugees on their journey, she seeks to understand the causes of migration, but she also works to overcome its negative effects, and to maximize its positive influence on the communities of origin, transit and destination.
The reality of migration, given needs to be approached and managed in a new, equitable and effective manner; more than anything, this calls for international cooperation and a spirit of profound solidarity and compassion. Migration can offer possibilities for a new evangelization, open vistas for the growth of a new humanity foreshadowed in the paschal mystery: a humanity for which every foreign country is a homeland and every homeland is a foreign country."