Pilgrimage

Reflection: The Immigrant Journey and the Prayer Journey

All week long we have been walking with immigrants and meeting with immigrants at the churches where we stop for the night. Within a short time, I have heard many of their stories—where they came from, how they got to western Washington, and where they are going and hope to go. Their journeys are similar to our pilgrimage. We walk and pray in the knowledge that God is with the poor, the stranger and the traveler. The immigrants leave their homes in the hope that they can provide a better life for their children, trusting in God to guide them to their goal.

Their voices burst with pride in challenges overcome, children educated, visas and work permits acquired; swell with sorrow over friends and relations left behind, injured or dead; and dance with joy and humor as they recall jokes on them or occasions for joy. The prayer walk has made me proud of my church's advocacy on behalf of immigrants and poor people; sad at the fear in which many of them live; and joyful at the connections I make with people, immigrants and U.S.-born, all along our way. This grace of pilgrimage, to meet new people and new communities and also see oneself and one's community through the eyes of others and alongside other individuals and communities, must be one of the main reasons the tradition of pilgrimage is common to so many different cultures and faith traditions.

If all those who judge immigrants “criminals” could meet the people I have met and hear their stories, few would then slander the hard working people who cross our borders for the same reason that brought our own ancestors to this country, to make a better life. And that, ultimately is why I am making this pilgrimage, to open my heart to the Gospel call to love my neighbor, Samaritan traveler or Mexican farm worker. We pilgrims are praying for the miracle of comprehensive just immigration reform but we are also seeking our own encounters with God in the people we meet. Perhaps Jesus walked the roads of Galilee and Judea not because that was the only way to travel in those days but because by walking, he met the people he had come to save.

posted by Nick

Some Specifics

At recent gatherings, the first question people have asked when they hear about our pilgrimage is, "So, which side are you on?"  To say we are on the side of justice is accurate but not very specific.  So, we are praying for immigration reform legislation that includes five elements identified as essential by the U.S. Catholic Bishops:

1)  an earned legalization program that allows undocumented persons to earn permanent residency;
2)  a worker program that protects foreign-born workers and safeguards against the displacement of U.S. workers;
3)  family-based immigration reform that reduces waiting time for family reunification;
4)  restoration of due process protections for immigrants; and
5)  policies that address the root causes of migration.

These five priorities address injustice and unfairness whether they affect undocumented immigrants, legal immigrants and U.S. citizens.  We want to address the injustices in our immigration system and in our current situation that affect all of us and all of our communities.

from the bulletin of St. Mary of the Valley in Monroe, WA

COME WALK WITH ME

    from Fr.Bloom

 

           Starting Aug. 1st a group of parishioners from Assumption parish in Bellingham are beginning a two-week Pilgrimage from their church to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Detention Center in Tacoma:  they are walking to pray for comprehensive immigration reform.   As you know many faith traditions include a pilgrimage as a form of prayer.  Although most pilgrimages are to sites associated with prophets, saints or important events, some pilgrimages have also had the goal of addressing conflicts, as when Francis of Assisi journeyed to the Holy Land to seek peace in the midst of the Crusades.

 

            The issue of immigration is complex; enough so that our national Congressional leadership has had difficulty coming to agreement as to the best way to structure the rules and regulations associated with the processes of immigration.  You yourself may have conflicting feelings about the issues; but by becoming a part of this event perhaps some of those conflicts will be resolved.  We Catholics do have guidance re the issues with the pilgrims on this walk praying for legislation that incorporates all of the priorities articulated by the U.S. and Mexican Catholic Bishops in their letter "Strangers No Longer, Together on the Journey of Hope" and later statements by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).  Since this is such a vital issue for our parish, I encourage you to prayerfully read and reflect on our bishops' statements. 

 

             In prayerful and spiritual solidarity with the pilgrims I'm asking you to join me (and Samwise) in walking with them on just one leg of their journey - from St. Mary's Catholic Church in Marysville to Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Everett - this part of the Pilgrimage will take place on Saturday, Aug. 8th, starting at about 9am and is advertised to be about a 7.2 mile walk according to the event planners to take about 2 1/2 hours to walk - that's probably optimistic and anyone walking should probably plan for about a 4 hour hike.    If you wish to join me I would ask that you either call or stop by the church office ... God bless you.  Father Bloom