Thirty Third Sunday in OT C2025

Malachai 3: 19-20a; 2 Thessal 3: 7-12: 2; Luke 21: 5-19

Brothers and Sisters,

This weekend, our Bishops of United States invite us to reflect of the issue of immigration. Their request comes after the celebration of the feast of St Frances Xavier Cabrini, known as Mother Cabrini, which took place this last Thursday, on November 13.

Mother Cabrini is well known throughout our country for her remarkable work in education, health care, and service to the poor and the immigrants.  She was the first American to be canonized as a saint and is considered as the patron of immigrants. We cannot think of her without thinking of the immigrants of the past and those of today.

Mother Cabrini believed in the inherent worth and dignity of every person, regardless of their social status, nationality, or circumstances of life. Her life was a statement to the principal of solidarity, which emphasizes the interconnectedness between human beings and calls us to stand in unity with those who are suffering   by sharing in their joys and sorrows, their hopes and expectations. Mother Cabrini’s life was also guided by the principal that calls us to prioritize the needs of the most marginalized members of society.

The history of US Catholic Church, like the history of the United States itself, is very much intertwined with the phenomenon of migration. This is not just a matter of history. It is a present reality in the life of our Church and a nation. “Our country has always had a great role (in history). First of all, it was a sanctuary for the oppressed. Then it became an arsenal for democracy. And now it is a pantry for the world”. “A Nation of Immigrants Must Not Lose its Soul. “Other nations have coherent immigration policy that respects the natural right to migrate in search for a better life… America should too.”

When in 1999 I visited Ellis Island in New York, I was struck by the pictures of those who arrived in the New World in the 18th century. They seemed to me simple, almost poor, with just one suitcase as part of their belonging. I can imagine the joy they felt as they were welcomed at shore by those who came before. The mass of those who populate our country today is the descendent of those immigrants.

For sure, the migration has changed over the years, in shape, size and origin. However, the motivation that pushes people to migrate has not changed. Search for better life, the flight from danger, violence, oppression or persecution are the same today as they were in the past.

No one is questioning that the “States have the right and the duty to protect their borders” or regulate immigration, consistent with the common good and with respect for the sanctity of human life. No one is challenging the States duty to keep the safety of their citizens by bringing the criminals to justice. What is at stake is the advocacy for the dignity and the rights of migrants, as well as for concrete acts of mercy and compassion to care for their immediate human needs.

Our Bishops calls us to understand that the current situation of suffering people are going through in our community, especially among our migrant brothers and sisters, requires the Church’s response. It is no longer sufficient to just pray, it requires action. “We cannot remain silent when children are afraid to attend graduations, when workers are afraid to go shopping, when parents are not there when children come home.”

The hope of justice the prophet Malachi is talking about in today’s first reading is above all a hope for a right relationship for the migrants. As disciples, we have to give testimony to Christ in times of social trial and in advocacy for those suffering injustice. If as faithful we do not encounter Christ in the poor who stands at the door, we will not be able to worship him even at the altar, says St John Chrysostom.

Jesus himself knew the experience of the migrants. As an infant, he was carried by Mary and Joseph into Egypt to escape the wrath of a tyrant (Matthew 2: 13-15). His earthly ministry was marked by movement and rejection - often with nowhere to lay his head (Luke 9: 58). He makes clear what discipleship demands when he teaches: “I was a stranger and you welcomed me.” (Matthew 25: 35)

Or again, “Whatever you do for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.” These words are not suggestions or slogans. They are imperative. They reveal the very heart of God for the migrants, the stranger, and the vulnerable. Be the reason someone feels welcomed, valued, heard and supported.

(Homily made by compiling the materials provided by the Committee for the Pastoral Care of Migrants)

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© 2025 Rev. Felicien Ilunga Mbala
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