God Hears Us
~ God hears our voices crying out. Take a moment to let that become a reality for you. Everyday I hear the clamoring cries of the immigrants in our community who have family members who have been deported, or have arrived from Chicago to escape the harshness of federal enforcement, or who struggle to feed their children and pay the rent. I have to wonder, who else hears their cries?
Most assuredly, God does. “The prayer of the lowly pierces the clouds; it does not rest till it reaches its goal, nor will it withdraw till the Most High responds, judges justly and affirms the right, and the Lord will not delay” (Sirach 35:21-22a). I strive for the zealous, unwavering faith of Sirach to move me forward with hope. On the World Day of Migrants and Refugees, a group of parishioners from SMOS made a pilgrimage of hope to the front steps of St. Pius V to join nearly 200 others with the confidence that lifting our voices together could ignite our corner of the world with God’s goodness. It was truly beautiful to walk together and to unite our voices in song and prayer so that those in our community and our God will know that we do not remain silent in the face of injustice against immigrants. And somehow–mysteriously–it made a difference.
God listens to the cry of the poor. So must we as a Church in order to amplify their voices. Pope Leo XIV recently wrote, “The Church, like a mother, accompanies those who are walking. Where the world sees threats, she sees children; where walls are built, she builds bridges. She knows that her proclamation of the Gospel is credible only when it is translated into gestures of closeness and welcome. And she knows that in every rejected migrant, it is Christ himself who knocks at the door of the community.”
Throughout the year, we present an article in the bulletin each week on a variety of topics, written by a member of our Parish staff or ministries on a rotating basis.