On Christmas day, I stopped by the house of a friend whose family had gone to Chihuahua to visit relatives for the holiday.
Unable to take off work to join in the vacation, he invited his cousin over for dinner.
This was the first time I met this cousin. He was young and thin and his English was poor. I learned he was married and that he and his wife have a two-year-old daughter.
Unfortunately, like my friend, he was unable to be with his family for Christmas. Not because his family is in Mexico, but because his wife and little girl were apprehended inside a Walmart and are currently being held in a detention center near the border.
Needless to say, the atmosphere in my friend’s house was somber and subdued.
These days, as we all know, the immigrant road is a hard road to walk.
It is not like the smooth path down which shepherds dashed on the way to Bethlehem.
Nor is it like the route on which Magi totted their camels beneath a starlit sky.
No. It was more like the dark alleys on which Joseph, Mary and the magi fled to escape Herod’s henchmen.
Yes, this young man is traveling that kind of road.
Have you ever found yourself on a similar route? Lost and uncertain as to what lies ahead?
Have you ever found yourself stranded like the young mother in dentation, with no one to turn to or lean on?
If so, what do we do? When worry closes in... when despair invades our thoughts... what do we do?
Do we just keep trudging along... putting one foot in front of another? Do we shake our heads in dismay as tears well-up in our eyes?
Or might we follow the example of St. Joseph? Do we pack the saddle bags, secure them to the donkey, and set off down the road knowing that God is with us every step of the way?
Do we mirror the faith of Mary? Do we pull the Savior close and whisper our fear into his ear?
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On Christmas day, before leaving my friend’s house, the three of us offered a prayer.
I have no doubt that the love poured out in that prayer penetrated the walls of a cell near the border… and blossomed into a love that no human heartache or flagging spirit, no public policy or earthly power will ever diminish or destroy for, indeed, in the words of St. John, Light has appeared in the darkness, a Light no darkness can extinguish,