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In this edition:
| Pope Francis: This Lent, Compare your Life to a Migrant's
| Ministry In Focus: Pastoral Ministry to Migrant Workers at St Mary’s Parish, Casino, NSW
| Cardinal Czerny: Integrate Migrant Ministry in Pastoral Programs
| Bishop Long: Living the Beatitudes and Witnessing to the Globalisation of Hope
| United in Prayer for Pope Francis
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In his Lenten message for 2025, Pope Francis encourages Christians to reflect on their spiritual journey by identifying with the struggles faced by migrants, fostering compassion, and embracing hope in God's promise of eternal life.
“It would be a good Lenten exercise for us to compare our daily life with that of some migrant or foreigner, to learn how to sympathise with their experiences and in this way discover what God is asking of us so that we can better advance on our journey to the house of the Father,” the pope wrote and signed on 6 February before he was hospitalised.
Pope Francis likens the Lenten journey to the Israelites’ flight from slavery in Egypt. “Our brothers and sisters who in our own day are fleeing situations of misery and violence in search of a better life for themselves and their loved ones,” he added. “A first call to conversion thus comes from the realisation that all of us are pilgrims in this life… Am I really on a journey, or am I standing still, not moving, either immobilised by fear and hopelessness or reluctant to move out of my comfort zone?”
The Pope also underscored the importance of journeying together, saying Christians are called to walk “side by side, without shoving or stepping on others, without envy or hypocrisy, without letting anyone be left behind or excluded.”
With acknowledgement and thanks to the Catholic News Service, where this article originally appeared.
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Mercy Sister Marg Bray and the St Mary’s parish community minister to and walk alongside the migrant workers at the Northern Rivers Food Co-Op (meatworks).
Despite the continuous challenge of suitable accommodation for some seasonal workers, she notes that they continue to live happily in their small community. The workers also continue to connect with and make friends with their co-workers.
Sr Marg sees and appreciates the great contribution of the workers to the parish community. For her, even the Sunday Mass congregations are remarkably reflecting the multi-cultural face of the Universal Church. The workers contribute their talent for singing at many parish events. Last year, during All Souls' Day, the seasonal workers came into town from the blueberry farms, and almost 40 of them sang the Mass. On the same occasion, the seasonal workers prepared and presented fruit and candles adorned with flowers and then visited the Sisters of Mercy graves and offered prayers for the repose of the souls of the deceased.
The parish community continues encouraging the workers to carry out their unique traditional rituals and making them feel very welcome and accompanied. The first group of Timor-Leste migrant workers was introduced by name to the parish community at a Sunday Mass. This seemingly simple yet profound gesture greatly impacted both the workers and the community. The parish also provided gifts to a couple who had a baby and one parishioner accompanied the couple through the experience with professional medical support.
There are many simple ways that a parish community could welcome migrant workers. “The main ingredient is for parishioners to be openly welcoming, learn their names, and invite them to family lunch,” she added.
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Incorporating the Church’s ministry to migrants, refugees, and displaced people into local pastoral programs is crucial, according to Cardinal Michael Czerny, Prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development.
On 6 February, the Cardinal Prefect virtually addressed the attendees of an international conference on Fratelli tutti, focusing on refugees and migrants. In his keynote address, he said, "In order to learn from the experience of forcibly displaced people, we need to include the ministry to migrants and refugees in local pastoral programmes. It will be important to train faith ministers for this dialogue, culturally, theologically, pastorally and organisationally.”
The “agent of reconciliation must be close to the people, but not take sides,” he added, emphasising that formation for peace might be incorporated into regular education or other services.
Sharing from his personal experience as a child migrant-refugee, he said that inclusivity is essential to Christian discipleship and stems from the Gospel's exhortation to love, serve, and welcome all people, especially the marginalised. When circumstances seem bleak, we must trust in God for the conviction that things can improve, he said, noting that faith provides the foundation which helps sustain hope.
With acknowledgement and thanks to the Vatican News, where this article originally appeared.
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In his homily for the Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Bishop Vincent Long, the Bishop of Parramatta and chair of the Bishops Commission for Social Justice, Mission and Service, draws strength from Pope Francis' teaching and caring for migrants and refugees in defending the dignity of our vulnerable sisters and brothers. Bishop Long encourages us to walk with them and empower them: “We are called to be witnesses to solidarity, justice and compassion. Impelled by the God who identifies with the oppressed and lifts up the downtrodden, let us walk with the least of our brothers and sisters, and empower them to be the stakeholders of the new heaven and the new earth.”
With acknowledgement and thanks to the Catholic Outlook, where this article originally appeared.
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The ACMRO joins the whole Church in praying for Pope Francis’ health and leadership.
Almighty ever-living God, eternal health of believers,
Hear our prayers for your servant, Pope Francis, who is sick:
Grant him, we implore you, your merciful help,
So that, with his health restored,
He may give you thanks in the midst of your Church.
Through Christ Our Lord, Amen.
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