ARCHDIOCESE OF PHILADELPHIA

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

We gather here today before our Lord Jesus Christ truly present in the Eucharist to pray for our great country. We stand at a critical juncture in our history as our legislators seek to reform the broken immigration system of our land. As Christians we are called to work to ensure that this reform reflects the moral standards which our faith demands of us.

The first reading this afternoon speaks to us about the Passover, which was a prelude to the Eucharist. This event, so much a part of our salvation history, was directly linked to the great migration of the Exodus, when God’s Chosen People left Egypt to seek the Promised Land. Their’s was a journey of hope.

The Jewish people were neither the first nor the last to undertake such a journey. Throughout history, and in every corner of the world, there have been peoples who have suffered at the hands of nature, or worse, at the hands of other human beings. Natural disasters, systemic corruption, poverty and persecution have uprooted so many people from their homes and forced them to seek a new home, a place of safety, security and promise.

This is the reality that has created our nation. Our own roots here began hundreds of years ago, or maybe only last week. People have come by land, air and sea. Many, like the Israelites, passed through a great desert. Some came because there was no way to survive at home; others were brought here forcibly. All have faced challenges. It was not an easy choice to come, and often it has not been easy for people to adjust to life here. Sadly, all too often we have failed to be the welcoming land we claim to be. So often newcomers to this land have faced discrimination in addition to the challenges of adjusting to a new way of life.

Our faith also began with the story of a journey, the story of a great migration. Is it not our moral duty to create a nation that is more open and respectful of other cultures, ethnic groups and, above all, of every human person?

We gather here this afternoon not for a rally, not for a protest, not for more information on the immigration debate. Instead, we come here to pray. We pray in praise to God who humbled himself by becoming man, sharing our life and even our death. We praise our Lord Jesus Christ who commanded us to love one another as He has loved us. Here on this altar we see His Body given up for us, for the sake of our eternal salvation. Here we see Him who called us to give ourselves in service to one another.

We pray here in thanksgiving, recognizing all the gifts God has given us: gifts of life and freedom, gifts of faith and hope. We have been blessed by God in so many ways. In return we bless the Lord for His mercy toward us and we recognize that we must share those blessings.

We pray also in reparation for all the sinfulness that has plagued this country throughout its history. Unjust and immoral discrimination has touched every generation of immigrants—Irish and Italian, Chinese and other Asian, Mexican and all Hispanics, and, above all, our African-American brothers and sisters. We ask God’s pardon for these sins.

Finally we pray in supplication. Our nation is at a crossroads. For over two hundred years, we have tried to fulfill our national vocation to be welcoming. At times we have done well, but at others times, we have failed. We ask God now to give us the strength to fulfill our vocation. We ask Him to guide our legislators to enact laws that make sense, laws that are guided by respect for the dignity of every human person.