I had a different type of Eucharistic Adoration tonight. Our Archbishop is sponsoring a week-long around the clock Eucharistic adoration at the cathedral praying for just and compassionate immigration laws. This was prompted by a bill that passed the US House of Representatives, and many that are pending at the state level that are enforcement-only bills and don't address any systemic problems or provide a way for immigrants that are now in the country to regularize their status. The Eucharistic Adoration I'm used to is mostly silent or with solemn prayers. When I got to the church I walked into a setting that had guitar players, people pouring their hearts out to Jesus in very expressive and passionate ways, people on their knees on the hard floor, and lots of kids playing in the back. It was what you would think of in terms of a gathering of Hispanics at church.
However, what struck me was the unified sense of pain and hope for God's mercy. There was a solidarity, a sense of unity in pain, that I had not felt before. We all prayed many psalms together and many prayers of mercy and help that had an added feeling of reality. The people gathered in church had actually spent time walking through the desert with not enough to eat and drink and with their rosaries in their hands. They had actually been hungry, naked, and in trouble. They had actually faced life threatening dangers. They had wondered into the desert leaving family and everything familiar to them behind so that they could eat and support their families back at home.
Many of the psalms were written expressing the agony and hope of a people on the move, a people on exile, a people suffering. Here I was in a room full of people on the move and threatened. The psalms became real, not just simply metaphors. For once, I got a sense of what it must have been like for the Jews to be in Egypt or Babylon. My heart was tender and yet, grateful to have experienced this moment of compassion and solidarity. Their cries to Jesus were real and impacting.
Technorati Tags: Justice
Now, you might want to do more research into this matter. If you really have no idea what all is involved in the immigration issue, then you have no standing to make policy, right?
Your Archbishop's compassion is probably as false and ultimately immoral as Sheehan's:
http://lonewacko.com/blog/archives/004709.html
Posted by: BigMediaBlog | March 06, 2006 at 11:07 PM
Hector I loved the fact that you and other people of god were crying out to him, singing out to him and using the psalms. There is a lot to be said for collective prayer/intercession and worship.
That said I have to say I'm not sure I get the adoration of the Eucharist. I realise that it's because of our diffent theologies concerning this. But I'm glad it worked for you.
Be blessed.
Posted by: Lorna | March 07, 2006 at 04:42 PM
Dear BigMediaBlog, the statements and actions of the Catholic archbishops are in complete alignment with a Judeo-Christian tradition that is over 4,000 years old. As Christians we believe that we must honor the sanctity and dignity of life, particularly the lives of those that need us the most.
Although the Church respects the right of a nation to control its borders, the rights of people to migrate for just causes is even more important.
People have the right to migrate in order to escape poverty, injustice, religious intolerance, and armed conflicts. Receiving nations have the obligation to care for and support those migrating and to treat them with dignity, even if they are undocumented immigrants.
Today we stand as a nation in the midst of abundance and wealth. In the blnk of an eye all of this could change. God forbid, we may experience a nuclear accident, a chemical spill, a natural disaster, a pandemic, a complete economic implosion and depression. If the only way for us to survive was to migrate to Canada, Costa Rica, Brazil, France, or China, the Church would then be standing by us and helping us survive. For God, there are no distinctions among people and no political boundaries. At the end of life God will not ask us how well we guarded our wealth, but how well we cared for the homeless, the sick, and the poor.
God Bless.
Posted by: Hector | March 07, 2006 at 09:08 PM
Amen, Hector.
Posted by: Mary Poppins NOT (Renee) | March 08, 2006 at 09:26 AM
Hi, Hector! I'm sorry that I have not been able to visit your blog lately. I was happy to see this post. I am a huge proponent of Eucharistic adoration. I wish the number of people participating in adoration would increase.
I wanted to ask you a favor. I have started another blog of mine just for pro-life issues. I was hoping that you could let me know about your state's pro-life laws if you are aware of them.
Thank you.
Here's the blog url: http://catholicprayer.blogspot.com
Posted by: Moneybags | March 11, 2006 at 11:25 AM
Hey, Hector! Most of my family and myself was so blessed this past Saturday evening at Adoration! We went to Our Lady of Greenwood and the blessed by -John Paul II traveling monstrance was present with us holding Jesus! Father Jonathan Meyer and the blessed leading of music by Grace on Demand was so inspiring!
Thanks for your blog about Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament!
Posted by: Suzanne McConnell | March 15, 2006 at 01:01 PM