Peace to you in Providence – International Migrants Day
As I reflect on the fate of our migrant sisters and brothers on their day, I realize with despair that their situation has barely changed. Migration all over the world continue to grow. Tensions, lack of opportunities, and even extreme poverty, drive thousands of people out from their “homes”.
Along with Pope Francis, who regards humanity with the strong conviction that we are all equal, we affirm that we are all children of God, brothers, and sisters, and therefore, we are called to live together and to love each other, fundamentally and radically, regardless of frontiers. In his encyclical “Fratelli tutti”, Pope Francis advocates for an open fraternity, which while recognizing our differences, makes dialogue take precedence over any form of exclusion. Dialogue brings down obstacles in our hearts and minds, gives room to forgiveness, and encourages reconciliation. Moreover, the purpose of the encyclical is to find out ways to build a “we”, and new ways of living together. To achieve this, the Pope invites us to practice fraternity. In our times, building a “we” is indeed a matter of survival for our planet. It is also a point of departure for us, as Sisters of Providence. One that translates into the Unity we desire for our Congregation.
In this context, it is significant that the pope chose the parable of the Good Samaritan. It is not a question of who my closest neighbor is, who is “my brother” or my “sister”, who is the priest, the Levite or the Samaritan, but rather of understanding to whom we should remain close to, whom should we consider our brothers and sisters. This different approach is important, because it demands co-responsibility from us and our actions in the community and in the world.
If we want the fundamental human right to life with dignity to become true, we must fight against the virus of individualism that is actively spreading out.
In short and for the benefit of the Providence family, the pope defines the essence of an open fraternity as a state in which each person is recognized, valued and loved, regardless of his or her proximity, birthplace or place of residence. As some of the Fratelli Tutti’s key concepts teach us, we need to come up with new inclusive methods, to imagine new ideas and build new paths. It is only by opening our hearts, and acting together to establish justice, dignity, solidarity and the common good that we can achieve this.
Merry Christmas in fraternity with the Child Emmanuel, God among us!