They were overjoyed at seeing the star,
and on entering the house they saw the child with Mary his mother. They
prostrated themselves and did him homage. Then they opened their treasures
and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. - Mt 2:10-11
Readings for the Week of
4 January 2009
Sunday: Is 60:1-6/Eph 3:2-3a, 5-6/Mt 2:1-12
Monday: 1 Jn 3:22---4:6/Mt 4:12-17, 23-25
Tuesday: 1 Jn 4:7-10/Mk 6:34-44
Wednesday: 1 Jn 4:11-18/Mk 6:45-52
Thursday: 1 Jn 4:19---5:4/Lk 4:14-22a
Friday: 1 Jn 5:5-13/Lk 5:12-16
Saturday: 1 Jn 5:14-21/Jn 3:22-30
Next Sunday: Is 42:1-4, 6-7 or Is 55:1-11/Acts 10:34-38 or 1 Jn
5:1-9/Mk 1:7-11
RENEWING HOPE,
SEEKING JUSTICE
National Migration Week 2009
January 4-10, 2009
The 2009 National
Migration Week, which is observed on January 4-10, 2009, reminds us of
our obligation to bring hope to the hopeless and to seek justice for
those who are easily exploited.
There are more than 14
million refugees worldwide. As a result of ethnic, political, and
religious persecution, these people have been driven from their
homelands and sent to seek safety elsewhere. Many are trapped in
isolated camps and forced into circumstances that tax hope.
About 12 million
undocumented immigrants currently work and live in the United States.
The great majority come here to reunite with their families or to find
work that will help them support their families. Undocumented immigrants
pay as much as $7 billion in Social Security and Medicare taxes each
year. But their undocumented status places them on the margin of society
and leaves them vulnerable to those who wish them harm.
Hundreds of thousands of
innocent victims are ensnared in the evil of human trafficking every
year. Many are forced into slave labor or become victims of sexual
exploitation.
It is imperative for the
new Administration to enact a comprehensive immigration reform. The
Catholic Church believes that current immigration laws and policies have
often led to the undermining of immigrants’ human dignity and have kept
families apart. It strongly supports a comprehensive immigration reform,
which includes a broad-based regularization of undocumented immigrants
and reform of the employment-based immigration system to provide legal
pathways for migrants to come and work in a safe, humane, and orderly
manner.
“I want to encourage you
and your communities to continue to welcome the immigrants who join your
ranks today, to share their joys and hopes, to support them in their
sorrows and trials, and to help them flourish in their new home.” (Pope
Benedict XVI to the U.S. Bishops, April 2008)