“THE Lord gives sight to the blind; the Lord raises up those who were bowed down. The Lord loves the just; the Lord protects strangers.” – Psalm 146:8-9
Archbishop Gomez bore some good news to us in the seminary at the end of our fall semester during the Mass of the Solemnity of Immaculate Conception. After saying that God’s action of looking for Adam and Eve in the story of creation has always intrigued him, he proclaimed the simple but profound message that “God is always looking for us.”
“God cares for each one of us,” the archbishop elaborated. “He cares for the weak, the poor, the migrants and the refugees.” The archbishop expressed his concern for those that Pope Francis refers to as being at the peripheries of our society. They are the ones who wait at the borders of the U.S. and other wealthy nations, wanting to escape poverty, violence, war, famine, and death.
The archbishop’s message fits well into the Gospel on this Third Sunday of Advent, when John the Baptist who was in prison sent his disciples to ask Jesus the question, “Are you the one who is to come or should we look for another?” Jesus responded not by saying “yes” or “no” in front of the crowd but rather by delineating what people had seen and heard about his ministry. “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind regain their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have the good news proclaimed to them.”
In today’s times, it seems to me that our continuous role as members of the Church is to be prophets of hope, especially to those who are alienated in our society. We may not be able to resolve the legal status of migrants and refugees; we might not be able to provide the needs of the unemployed and the homeless; and we might not able to give medical aid to the sick, but we must be a church that advocates for their rights and our duties for them. We must be their voice in appealing for government aids and we must do what we can to help them with their immediate needs.
One of our seminarians on internship conveyed this hope to an undocumented couple sitting on a bench on the patio of the church he serves. Disturbed by the unfortunate flight of the young poor couple, he stooped before them, looked into their eyes, assured them of his prayers, and gave them a rosary and a few dollars. It was not much what he offered this couple, but at least, his gestures gave them hope and made them feel that the church cares for them.
The church’s prophetic role in the lives of poor migrants and refugees is to provide them hope that “the deserts and the parched land” of their hearts will exult and “abundant flowers” will bloom in their lives. The church must say to them who are frightened: “Be strong, fear not!” (See Isaiah 35:1-5)
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From a Filipino immigrant family, Reverend Rodel G. Balagtas was ordained to the priesthood from St. John’s Seminary in 1991. He served as Associate Pastor at St. Augustine, Culver City (1991-1993); St. Martha, Valinda (1993-1999); and St. Joseph the Worker, Canoga Park (1999-2001). In 2001, he served as Administrator Pro Tem of St. John Neumann in Santa Maria, CA, until his appointment as pastor of ImmAaculate Heart of Mary, Los Angeles, in 2002, which lasted 12 years. His term as Associate Director of Pastoral Field Education at St. John’s Seminary began in July 2014.
