The Epiphany of The Lord

Dear Parishioners,

    Stories abound throughout the world concerning people who have been driven from their homes because of war, natural disaster, political upheaval and economic crisis.  This is a Sunday to pray for the millions of people throughout the world who have had to relocate to other countries. 

    No one needs to tell us that such migration causes stress on all concerned.  The ones who are most adversely impacted are the refugees themselves.  Quite often, people die as they try to make their way to safety.  People also end up in vast refugee camps. 

Quite often we hear people say things like, “Why don’t people just stay where they are or why can’t they go back to where they came from?”  I try to imagine what I would do if I had to leave my home on short notice for the rest of my life.  It is hard for me to think about this since I have lived in central Illinois all my life. I will probably die here.  I would not like to be forced from my home to live in another place with a completely different culture and language than my own. 

On the Feast of the Epiphany, we hear about the Holy Family being forced out of Israel into Egypt by a tyrannical King named Herod.  We have domesticated the story making it a children’s tale of three exotic magi coming to see the Christ Child with gifts, but let there be no mistake, the story is about a family being displaced by political unrest. 

How difficult it must have been for Jesus, Mary and Joseph to have lived in exile. Do we suppose Joseph took someone else’s job in Egypt?  Did the family have to learn a different language?  Did they face discrimination.  The questions for our reflection abound.

Today is a day to look at our attitudes toward new arrivals in our country and to pray for those displaced throughout the world. Our church is very concerned about the plight of migrants.  May we remember them in prayer and in our charity.

Merry Christmas,   

Fr. Mark