We Are All Immigrants

We Are All Immigrants Homily given by Very Rev. Patrick Woods on January 3, 2010, the Feast of the Epiphany, in St. Peter s Church, Philadelphia, PA, in anticipation of the Feast Day of St. John Neumann. In 1994, I made my first trip ever to the Holy Land. I finally made a trip to Ireland. It was a grace-filled time for me since both my Mom and Dad had been born and raised in County Clare, Ireland, and made the similar journey that millions of people had and continue to make to this great land of the United States. It was wonderful to see the very homes where they grew up and to see the land of their birth. I was struck by the fact that I, a native of the largest city in the United States New York was just one generation removed from a very rural farm area of Ireland. My parents had barely finished grade school in a one room school house, and the Redemptorists had blessed me with a university education. I grew up in a city with millions of people; they lived in a village of less than 300 people. As a young boy growing up, I had been provided with all that I needed. When my folks arrived in America they had almost nothing. I did see some differences between the Irish and myself. They drove on what I considered the wrong side of the road; they always served tea when I expected coffee; and they spoke with a brogue that was not the familiar accent of Brooklyn. What my Mom and Dad did carry to America was their dream for a better life, the desire to marry and raise a family, and their Catholic faith. This faith they passed on to me and my sisters. I am, proud to say that I am the child of immigrants. Our beloved St. John Neumann, a Redemptorist, was an immigrant. He left his native land of Bohemia and traveled to America with the dream of being ordained a Catholic priest and serving the immigrants of this great, growing mission land. He arrived in New York City in 1836 with only a dollar in his pocket, his clothes shabby from the trip and his shoes worn out. The rain was pouring down on the sidewalks on that day as he walked up the streets of New York. Fortunately, Bishop John Dubois welcomed him and accepted him as a candidate for ordination to the priesthood. So, another immigrant had landed in America and began to live his dream: that of preaching the Gospel to God s people, in particular those who were making a similar journey as did he, from Europe to the United States. We know well of his great pastoral zeal for preaching the Gospel, for teaching catechism to children, of visiting the sick, of forming people into communities so as to sustain their faith when a priest was not present, of his learning 12 languages so as to serve all the countless immigrants. He was a loving pastor and zealous missionary. His journeys throughout the Eastern United States, on horseback, on canal barges, horse-drawn carriages, and by foot were

exhausting. Our missionary realized he wanted and desired the support of community life, and that led him in 1840 to join the Redemptorists, a religious order, made of people like himself, immigrants from Europe, who were serving people of many ethnic backgrounds. John Neumann was known for his humility and desire to be in the background. However, his deep prayerful spirituality, his pastoral zeal and charity, and his talents for organization led his superiors to continue to put him in positions of leadership, first as a local superior and pastor, then provincial, and ultimately in 1852, he was made the bishop of the largest and most important diocese in the new land: Philadelphia. It was only the mandate of the Holy Father, Pope Pius IX, that gave the humble, reluctant immigrant the willingness to accept this challenging assignment. At the time, Philadelphia would have had two basic classes of people: the rich and the poor, struggling immigrants. There would not have been too much of a middle class. Many of the elite Catholics had roots in America for a long period of time. They did not want a bishop that spoke with a foreign accent; they did not want a bishop who looked more like a laborer than a leader of the Church. Some would have resented that he was a foreigner. However, the immigrants were grateful to God to have someone who could speak their languages, who loved and cared for them, and who was tireless in their service. Eventually, even many of the wealthy Catholics came to admire this holy, humble man. Many cities of the United States, and even Philadelphia the city that gave birth to our nation and promised that all men are created equal suffered from a fierce anti- Catholicism. Historians would note that the prejudice against Catholics was also a strong resentment toward the immigrants that were pouring into America. Many of the Italians, the Germans, Poles, and Irish who came to this land in the 19th century were Catholics. Their faith was a vital part of their life. In the newspapers, one could read terrible stories about Catholics and immigrants; there was a fear that the pope was going to come to America and take over the nation. There were many groups and secrets societies that banded together in their hatred and preached resentment toward the immigrant Catholics. At one point, Bishop Patrick Kenrick, the bishop whom John Neumann succeeded, left the city carrying the Holy Eucharist to protect it from being desecrated. One author wrote, The Nativists and Know Nothing movements were born. Pamphlets, street corner rabble rousers, galloping circuit riders all shouted the same message: Keep America Safe for Americans. One of the greatest bigots was a man named Asa Symington. Symington ranted, Unmask this John Neumann as the sworn enemy of American institutions: free elections, free speech, public schools, the whole democratic process. Nativists scrawled crude insults on newly built churches and schools, construction workers were beaten, and the religious communities of women were tormented by ugly notes slipped under their doors.

Bishop Neumann, the quiet, humble gentleman, did not allow this terrible bigotry to intimidate him from fulfilling his ministry as bishop of Philadelphia or from his loving care of the poor Catholic immigrants. Since the anti-catholicism often tainted the public schools at that time with their prejudice, Bishop Neumann worked tirelessly to create a Catholic school system that would allow the children of immigrants to have their faith nurtured and sustained. He brought in the School Sisters of Notre Dame, the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, the Immaculate Heart of Mary Sisters, the Christian Brothers, and the Holy Cross Brothers to teach the immigrant children. He founded the Franciscan Sisters of Glen Riddle to serve the struggling poor. Some of his priests and advisors, although they agreed with the idea, cautioned Bishop Neumann that it was too dangerous to begin the Forty Hours Devotion in honor of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, since it might stir up the anti-catholic bigots. The future saint boldly went forward with his plan, and the great focus on the Eucharist sustained the growing Catholic parishes in the face of prejudice. In the midst of great prejudice against the Catholic faith, St. John Neumann gave his immigrant people structures they could be proud of and that would strengthen their faith. We can look at this magnificent church, St. Peter s, to see the commitment of the Catholic immigrant community, under the leadership of St. John Neumann. Today, in addition to marking the upcoming feast of St. John Neumann, we are celebrating the great feast of the Epiphany. Sometimes, this day is called the Feast of the Three Kings and others may call it Little Christmas. Some nationalities celebrate this day with great joy and festivity. I remember I had friends from Puerto Rico when I was in the seminary and they celebrated this feast day with great joy. For many of us, the Epiphany is a time to take down our Christmas tree, box up the decorations for another year, and put the lights away. Yet, this feast day is a most significant day since it has much to teach us about the plan of God for salvation. As we know, in the Old Testament, God entered into a very special relationship with the Jewish people. He formed the Jewish people as a nation and he revealed himself to the people through Abraham, Moses, and the Prophets. God entered into the very sacred bond of a covenant with the Jewish people. They came to know themselves as the chosen people and God had promised them a Messiah, a Redeemer who would save the people from their sins. On Christmas Day, we celebrate that Jesus Christ has come among us as a man. The Word becomes flesh and dwells among us. Jesus is born of a Virgin mother, Mary of Nazareth. He is raised as a Jewish boy in Nazareth. He is circumcised and presented in the Temple by Mary and Joseph. He learns the customs and prayers of the Jewish people. When Jesus is on the verge of beginning his public ministry, his cousin, John the Baptist announces that he is the one the people have been waiting for; he is the Messiah. Jesus preaches about his Father and the kingdom of God. He heals the sick, feeds the hungry, calms the raging sea, and turns water into wine. He is the Son of God, fully human and

fully divine. He dies on the cross for love of humanity and rises up on the third day to return to his Father. He sends the Holy Spirit to give life to his Church. The word epiphany means manifestation. On this day, we celebrate that God is revealing himself to all people. The shining star over Bethlehem is a sign of God showing Jesus to all the world. The Wise Men bring the Infant gold, frankincense, and myrrh. The Wise Men, the Three Kings, kneel before the Infant and pay him homage. This is a very important moment in salvation history. God is revealing that he is not only to be the Savior of the Jewish people, but that he has come to save all people. All human beings are God s chosen people and the Lord yearns to bring all people to salvation. These men who have journeyed far from the East and followed the star over the stable represent every human being who has ever longed to know God and to respond to the God who so loves them. Both Jews and Gentiles, as we read in today s reading from Ephesians, are coheirs, members of the same body, and copartners in the promise of Christ Jesus in the Gospel. As we ponder St. John Neumann, an immigrant himself, who so loved the immigrants who came to America, and as we reflect on the mystery of the manifestation of God to the Magi, we see clearly that we too must reject all bigotry and prejudice against other people, whatever their race, their color, their nationality, or their religion. We are all creatures under the same God. Our nation is a nation of immigrants; almost all of us, with the exception of the Native Americans, can trace our roots to other lands. Many of us have our own traditions and customs; some of us do not speak English as our first language. We have come a long way since the blind bigotry of the mid-19th century toward Catholics. The vice president of the United States, Joseph Biden, is a Catholic, as are six of the members of the Supreme Court. Almost 50 years ago, we elected John Kennedy, a Catholic, as our president. Recently, our nation elected it first African-American president, Barack Obama, whose father was from Kenya. Yet, we continue to have serious debates about immigrants to our nation; it is a most complicated question. How are we to decide who can come to our shores and who cannot? How can we best decide if we have enough resources in our land to provide for more immigrants? These are questions that have no easy answers. Yet, I do know that it is easy for any one of us to give into fear. We often are afraid of people who are different from us. If they look different than do we, if they speak differently than do we, if they pray in a different way than we do, it may cause us some fear. This can be a moment when we might wish to reject people because of these differences; yet the Epiphany reminds us that God is for all people. Even in our own parishes, neighborhoods, and families, we may struggle and resent those who think differently than do we. We say things such as, How can you think that way? What is wrong with you? Stick with your own people. It is easy to listen to such

negative voices. Our challenges today in the United States, although very different than those of the days of St. John Neumann are every bit as demanding. Being faithful to God and his call to love and cherish all people is no easy task. Yet, we are all immigrants. We are all pilgrims. Earth is not our final home. We are all on a journey, moving from one land to another: from life to eternal life. Our stay on Earth is 70 or 80 or 90 years. Then we will leave and emigrate into eternal life and be before the throne of God. The Magi followed the star and found Christ the Redeemer underneath it. Two thousand years later, you and I still seek Christ, in his living Word, the Bible, in the Holy Eucharist, in the community of our Catholic Church, in the witness of the great saints like John Neumann, in the poor and forgotten people of our day, and in the silence of our hearts. On Christmas Day, we celebrated that God is Emmanuel: God with us. Today, on the Feast of the Three Kings, we celebrate that God is for all people.