Jose’s Way of the Cross

(An adaptation by Anton Flores-Maisonet of “The Way of the Cross of the Migrant Jesus,” by Gioacchino Campese, CS, Centro de Pastoral Migratoria Scalabrini.)

FIRST STATION: Jose and Maria Flee to Georgia

Reflection: Jose and Maria, like most unauthorized immigrants in the United States, did not travel here as tourists.  The structural violence of poverty that is propped up by oligarchies, unjust trade policies, the militarization of the hemisphere, a failing drug war, unrepentant racism, and unbridled materialism is the primary force behind the exodus of millions.  Over the past decades and until recently, Georgia had become a destination of choice for many seeking to escape desperation and find work, albeit often times in less than dignified work conditions.

Prayer: Beloved Jesus, who in the company of the first migrant Maria and Jose learned the trials of migration in your exile from Egypt, we pray for the countless unauthorized migrants, refugees, and displaced children who are so much like you. May their parents find work, food, and shelter. May they be received everywhere with love, acceptance, and welcome. May all those who come from afar find in us brothers and sisters who love them, in the same way that you do. Lord Jesus, free them from all spiritual and bodily danger. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

 SECOND STATION: Jose is Tempted by the American Dream

Reflection: Migrants also face temptations that put themselves and their families in danger, both during their journeys and after they reach their destinations. There are many problems and risks that they face: robberies, accidents, violence, exploitation, corruption, harsh weather, and lack of understanding and hospitality. In these conditions it is easy to succumb to frustration, desperation, or depression, all of which can lead to drug addiction or alcoholism. Another temptation is the obsessive search at all costs for money and success, which makes many migrants forget their families, their origins and their cultural values.

Prayer: Holy God, grant all of us the gift of strength so we might overcome the earthly temptations of wealth and success, and the bitterness and desperation that impede our pilgrimage toward your Reign. Guide all people, especially the migrants, in the ways of hope and true human values. We ask you this through Christ, our Lord. Amen.

THIRD STATION: Jose Purchases an Automobile

Reflection: In a country that is still overly dependent upon automobiles as the primary mode of transportation, most unauthorized immigrants must confront a dilemma – the need for transportation in a land that denies them access to a driver’s license.  In an effort to make Georgia inhospitable, the legislature in 2008 succumbed to fear-laden xenophobia and eroded all of our civil liberties by making repeated driving without a driver’s license (or with a suspended one) a felony.  But Jose must work and to live as a family without an automobile in Georgia, is next to impossible.

Prayer: Migrant God of all peoples, who through Jesus made yourself a pilgrim wandering from town to town by foot and via the transportation of the day, help us to identify with those who suffer, those who are discriminated against and criminalized by society for doing something we all do too much of – driving. Help us to build a new world in which automobiles are a thing of the past but where the human right to migrate and move freely is upheld. We ask you this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

FOURTH STATION: Maria Is Betrayed by her Employer

Reflection: Desperation leads unauthorized immigrants to our desert. On the other side of the wall that says “Do not trespass” are a plethora of signs proclaiming, “Now hiring”.  However, once an immigrant crosses the river, she is no longer a person with a story, a family, and an identity; she is now a dehumanized “wetback”.  Since dehumanization is the precursor to violence, the migrant is now susceptible to all manners of discrimination and exploitation, including at the hands of one’s one employers.  Low wages and even outright wage theft is common practice waged against a group of hard-working laborers with little legal protections.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, who felt firsthand the pain of betrayal by one of your own, guide the betrayed on the path of forgiveness and accompany all those who betray others on the path of conversion and truth. Help us to recover and renew our collective memories and to transform our hearts that we might make room in them for compassion and solidarity. We ask you this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

FIFTH STATION: Jose Prays at a Roadblock

Reflection: With his wife now unemployed, Jose’s $8 per hour does not go very far.  On his way home from a hard day’s work in a local poultry plant, he is almost home when Jose spots a roadblock just one block from his home.  Driving unlicenseable, Jose knows what awaits him – the humiliation of arrest, the impoundment of his vehicle, a fine likely over $1,000, and possibly a transfer to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for deportation proceedings.  Jose’s heart is pounding and his hands are sweating as he prays to God, “Mi Diosito, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me, primero Dios.”

Prayer: God of justice, it is not your will that families be separated via unjust arrests and deportations.  And yet, this bitter cup is drunk from every day by hundreds of immigrants.  Wake us up from our slumber!  We have deserted you every time we desert the migrant who faces unjust arrest.  Help us to stay alert and keep watch against injustice. We ask you this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

SIXTH STATION: Jose Is Arrested

Reflection: The police exist to serve and protect.  Yes, they are enforcers of the law but every human being has a moral conscience that is greater than any law.  Therefore, officers of the law must refuse to enforce any unjust law and, furthermore, must not use the rule of law to legitimize the inhumane and unjust treatment of another fellow human being.  When law enforcement officials engage in racial profiling, conduct targeted roadblocks in immigrant communities, or refuse to assist immigrant victims’ of violent crimes, this is a betrayal of both their oath and their conscience.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, unauthorized immigrants live in precarious situations.  They live in the shadows of our society due to oppressive immigration laws.  The shadows may protect them from la migra but it does not protect them from those who would prey on their vulnerability.  Help our law enforcement officials discern what is good and right in Your eyes and may they unwaveringly commit themselves to serving and protecting the most marginalized among us. We ask you this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

SEVENTH STATION: Jose Is Interrogated by Jail Guards

Reflection: Now the interrogators were looking for ways to transfer Jose to ICE for deportation.  Afraid he would destroy this nation with his “unwillingness” to learn the language and assimilate, the chief interrogator stood up and said, “Hey amigo, have you no answer? Are you an “illegal”?” But Jose was silent for there was no interpreter.

Prayer: Good and gracious God, free us from the temptation of turning migrants into scapegoats in our communities, into the object of our accusations and political campaigns, or into mere statistics. Give us a spirit of compassion so that we may understand the suffering of these people who have to leave behind their homelands and families in search of a better future. We ask you this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

EIGHTH STATION: Jose Is Detained for ICE

Reflection: What began as just another journey home to his family after a long day’s work, is now a via dolorosa of forced detention, deportation, and separation from family, friends, and work.  After being arrested, Jose’s fingerprints, one of the unique markings that God gives to each human being, is now utilized by the promulgators of fear to determine whether or not Jose has a “right” to remain united with his family in this land we call the United States.

Prayer: Liberator God who sets the captives free, we pray for those who govern our societies whose decisions affect our communities. Enkindle in them a spirit of justice so that our laws grant everyone, especially migrants, the rights and dignity that all human beings deserve. May our society protect above all the lives of the poor and the insignificant. We ask you this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

NINTH STATION: Jose Falls under the Weight of the Detention

Reflection: Jose spent a total of three months locked up in three different detention centers.  He had no access to legal counsel, no visits with his family, and was treated like a prisoner.  With the Atlanta immigration court having a deportation rate of 98.8%, is it really a surprise that so many immigrants fall under the weight of detention and, without legal counsel, sign for “voluntary” departure?

Prayer: God of life, close down these detention centers of death.  We remember Roberto Medina and Miguel Hernandez who literally died in CCA detention centers in Georgia and we also pray for the thousands of men who every year face a “little death” to their dignity as they are detained for prolonged periods of time without due process.  Please, with Your mighty arm, shut these detention centers down.  We ask this of you. Amen.

TENTH STATION: Corrections Corporation of America Helps Carry Jose Away

Reflection: At $122/day, Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) has no qualms about turning people into a commodity.  Hidden in remote locations like CCA’s Stewart Detention Center in rural southwest Georgia for an average of 53 days, CCA’s record-breaking profits is being made off of the unjust and unnecessary detainment of “violators” of a broken, civil (not criminal) immigration system.

Prayer: God of mercy, do not allow us to let the migrants to be alone, abandoned, or hopeless. Teach us to act in solidarity, compassion, and a spirit of welcome. Show us how to overcome our selfishness and challenge the greed of prison corporations so that we might accompany our migrant brothers and sisters who walk with us in this world. We ask you this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

ELEVENTH STATION: Jose Is Stripped of His Garments

Reflection: Forced to where color-coded prison uniforms inside Corrections Corporation of America’s immigration detention centers, this hard-working father with no criminal history has become the sacrificial lamb of a country unwilling to renounce its material wealth gained via exploitation of the world’s poor.

Prayer: Compassionate God, we put in your hands the lives of our migrant brothers and sisters, especially those who have suffered the humiliation of being stripped on their journeys. You know the injustices, the exploitation, and the abuses that they have suffered… Heal their bodily and spiritual wounds with the strength of your love. Change our hearts of stone into hearts of flesh… We ask you this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

TWELFTH STATION: Jose is Flown to the Border with 500 Others

Reflection: On one of the most holy days to Mexican Catholics, the Day of the Virgin of Guadalupe, Jose was deported along with approximately 500 other Mexican nationals.  He saw this as a sign of hope offered by God and the Virgin.  Those of us who are Americans should see it as a shameful act and ask forgiveness for our complicity for the ways we all dehumanize our migrant brothers and sisters.

Prayer: God of truth, grant us new eyes so that we do not to look at our migrant brothers and sisters like criminals and no longer call them “illegal.” In Your eyes only our selfishness, violence, injustice and exploitation are illegal. Give us the necessary courage to be able to conquer our selfishness. We ask you this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

THIRTEENTH STATION: No One Wipes Veronica’s Face.

Reflection: We are reminded that on a daily basis, scores of women are forced to make a processional of shame across the bridge in Brownsville, TX.  Filled with anguish and with tears flowing down their faces, who wipes their face?  Surely a Veronica has been counted among the innumerable mothers whose hearts literally ache as they turn their backs on this land but never on their children who are left behind.

Prayer: God, as a mother hen gathers her brood under her wings, gather those women who are forcibly separated from their children due to detention and deportation.  May your motherly love and compassion be the unbreakable link that unifies all migrants and their families. We ask you this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

FOURTEENTH STATION: Jose Is Deported

Reflection: Let us silently recall all those migrants who have been stripped of their dignity and returned to their homeland in an inhumane manner only meant to kill their human aspirations to be free from oppression and discrimination. Through them and with them Jesus dies again today.

Prayer: God of liberty, console the families of the deported.  Forgive us for those who have died seeking to enter our nation through our deserts.  Help us to promote dignity, family unity, life and fight against all laws and policies that cause the antithesis of these values. May the cross of your Son be for us a cry of protest against all injustice and a symbol of justice for all. We ask you this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

FIFTEENTH STATION: Jose Returns to the United States

Reflection: The Returned Jose is reunited with his wife and children and with us, reminding us we are all pilgrim and migrant people, even if we do not always recognize this to be true.

Prayer: God of the journey, inspire us now so that we can lovingly and generously accompany migrants on their journeys… Help us to recognize your resurrected Son in our migrant brothers and sisters… We ask you this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

 

The face of God in Cobb County (Thursday)

An all-time high of 585 PILGRIMS!!!  8 miles…

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Yo te amo con el amor de Jesus;
Yo te amo con el amor de Jesus.
Yo veo en ti el rostro de mi Dios;
Yo te amo con el amor de Jesus.

I love you with the love of Jesus;
I love you with the love of Jesus.
I see in you the face of my God;
I love you with the love of Jesus.

 

Solo le Pido a Dios (Cartersville)

125 pilgrims… 4 miles…

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When we entered the sanctuary of Douglas Street United Methodist Church, a video of this moving song as performed by the legendary Mercedes Sosa was filling the air like a true Lenten hymn (see video below).

SOLO LE PIDO A DIOS 
words and music by Leon Gieco 
(This song simply says)
I only ask of God He not let me be indifferent to the suffering

Solo le pido a Dios
Que el dolor no me sea indiferente
Que la reseca muerte no me encuentre
Vacio y solo sin haber echo lo suficiente

Solo le pido a Dios
Que lo injusto no me sea indiferente
Que no me abofeteen la otra mejia
Despues que una garra me arane esta frente

Chorus:
Solo le pido a Dios
Que la guerra no me sea indiferente
Es un monstro grande y pisa fuerte
Toda la pobre inocencia de la gente
Es un monstro grande y pisa fuerte
Toda la pobre inocencia de la gente

Solo le pido a Dios
Que el engano no me sea indiferente
Si un traidor puede mas que unos quantos
Que esos quantos no lo olviden facilmente

Solo le pido a Dios
Que el futuro no me sea indiferente
Deshauciado esta el que tiene que marchar
A vivir una cultura diferente

Chorus (2x)

 

Buford Highway in pics (plus a prayer)

225 pilgrims… 3 miles…

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OUR CHARTER OF ENTITLEMENT
by Walter Brueggemann

We are mostly the kind of people who do well and who mean well. We know how to do what must be done and we get up and do it.

We have a sense of our worth and our capacity to perform. We care for our children and our futures and our good schools. And after good schools come college and learning and degree and profession and security.

We sit in and enjoy our responsible entitlement that we have surely earned. But along with success and well-being, we wish our children happy, so we protect and extend adolescence; we build barriers against ugliness and failure, and struggle with too much work and stress.

We have and treasure all the signs of entitlement, all the props of affluence, all the symbols of well-being. How peculiar that we have it all and worry about immigrants who might acquire some small part of our legacy.

In this moment of candor before you, we step into that gap in our life between assured entitlement and the threat of immigrants, between our indulgence of our children and the violence that mostly lacks shame.

Move us by your hovering that we may come to ourselves, that we may notice the ways in which we are far from home, that we may reckon how we have betrayed ourselves for quick fixes.

Give us the capacity to return to you, to be welcomed home, to be forgiven, to be invited to dance and then to a fatted calf, to receive it all as a gift from you.

As people of entitlement and violence, we converge with immigrants, we learn together how deeply in need we are; receive us and move us that we may accept your welcome to newness.

Return us to innocence, even while we are frightened.

Exhibit to us your great simplicity among our complex habits.

Call us at last by our right names, because we are yours.

 

Tuesday’s prayer and photos (Downtown Atlanta)

10 pilgrims… 12 miles…

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ON CONTROLLING BORDERS

by Walter Brueggemann

Jesus – crucified and risen – draws us into his presence again,

the one who had nowhere to lay his head,

no safe place

no secure home,

no passport or visa

no certified citizenship

We gather around him in our safety, security, and well-being,

and fret about “illegal immigrants”

We fret because they are not like us

and refuse our language.

We worry that there are so many of them

and their crossings do not stop.

We are unsettled because it is our tax

dollars that sustain them and provide services.

We feel the hype about closing borders and heavy fines,

because we imagine that our life is under threat.

And yet, as you know very well,

we, all of us – early or late – are immigrants

from elsewhere;

we are glad for cheap labor

and seasonal workers

who do tomatoes and apples and oranges

to our savoring delight.

And beyond that, even while we are beset by fears

and aware of pragmatic costs,

we know very well that you are the God

who welcomes strangers,

who loves aliens and protects sojourners.

As always, we feel the tension and the slippage

between the deep truth of our faith

and the easier settlements of our society.

We do not ask for an easy way out,

but for courage and honesty and faithfulness.

Give us ease in the presence of those unlike us;

help us to honor those who trespass

as you forgive our trespasses.

You are the God of all forgiveness.

By your gracious forgiveness transpose us

into agents of your will,

that our habits and inclinations may more closely

follow your majestic lead, that our lives may

joyously conform to your vision of a new world.

We pray in the name of your holy Son, even Jesus.

 

Purifying the Temple to Build the Beloved Community (Monday in Chamblee)

written by Jean Chapman & Anton Flores-Maisonet

Another day of grace as a gift; beginning with our host families, moving on to Holy Cross Catholic Church for liturgy, and then gathering outside for our 3-mile walk to Open Table Community Church.

“How many people will be there?” reflected our hosts.

“At least us,” I jokingly exclaimed.

“We’ve never helped organize this before and we don’t know what to expect.”

As we set off on this bright spring morning, approximately 125 pilgrims strong, we carried the images of this second day of Holy Week, continuing to link that last week of Jesus’ life on Earth with the suffering of immigrant families in our time and place.

Monday is the day of the purification of the Temple including Jesus’ overturning tables, driving out the moneychangers, and calling out that he would tear down the entire structure and rebuild it in three days.  As Anton reminded us on Monday, the Domination System is “marked by political oppression, economic exploitation, and religious legitimation.”  This historic day’s direct action by Jesus in the center Jewish religious life was a prophetic confrontation of the institutional religious order’s legitimation of the Imperial oppression and exploitation now matched by a house of prayer mimicking the oppressor by being converted into a den of thieves.  Complicity becoming collusion.

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Walking with our immigrant brothers and sisters, babies, children, teens, grandmothers, and parents; we were again humbled and privileged to listen to their stories, to prayers calling us to resist the injustice of Empire and any form of mimicry.   Together we prayed with our feet, longing for the day when the structures of injustice, greed and power run amok would be dismantled and rebuilt into the Beloved Community with an open table for all.

 

Photos from Palm Sunday – Gainesville

6 pilgrims – 16 miles

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