Yesterday several news outlets reported that Trump plans to rescind the long standing policy of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) of not going into “sensitive” places, such as churches, schools, and hospitals to arrest and detain immigrants he deems worthy of deportation.
This so-called Christian now plans to invade our places of worship to pick up those who have come to worship the Ggod he claims he believes in? This is so utterly outrageous that it defies the imagination. Armed with guns, ICE officers will come into our most sacred spaces? What will our response be? What must our response be?
This is like Nero or Diocletian dragging out people from the catacombs to throw them to the lions. Will we be like the Confessing Church trying to refuse them access, we who are not armed with guns and chains? Will patients be dragged from their hospital beds? Children from schools? This goes beyond the pale and if we are who we claim we are, people of faith, we must stand up against such heinous plans.
Prayer for the Day
Deliver us from evil, we pray, and do not put us to the test,
For we fear we will be unable to stand against power;
Stories of saints may inspire us, O Lord, but we know,
We are afraid of what might come should we be like them.
Grant us courage and strength in this time and the future,
So we are truly your disciples in a dark time.
In the name of the One who is our strength,
Even Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.
Thoughts for the Day
This certainly is an infringement on religious freedom and will deter immigrant families from attending Mass and receiving the sacraments. The U.S. bishops should be very concerned about this deportation scheme and push back against it strongly, as it is as much an attack on the life of the church in this country as it is against immigrant families
J Kevin Appleby, former director migration policy Conference of Catholic Bishops
The ill-informed are those who think we do not have enough money to help Americans because we are spending too much money on immigrants. This is simply not borne out by reality…Immigrants are a net gain from a taxpaying perspective, and they commit crimes at a lower rate than native-born Americans.
Ben Marsh, pastor, First Alliance Church, Winston, North Carolina
Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account..
Jesus, Matthew 5:11