Dear Sisters and Partners-in-Mission,
I greet you all in the grace and mercy of the precious Sacred Heart. It has been a full last quarter, with many meetings and much activity despite the August holiday period in the northern hemisphere. I hope you all had some time out to spend with your family and friends. This past quarter has seen certain parts of the world lowering Covid restrictions allowing life to normalize somewhat. Yet many countries remain in desperate situations, with only a small percentage of their population vaccinated. We think of all those who have suffered and continue to suffer a great loss during this time; you are in our prayers.
During the month of September, several Sisters and I had the privilege of attending a Conference on Migrants and Refugees where we were reminded that all of us are migrants in this world, here temporarily as stewards of relationships and our common home, but ultimately making our journey towards eternity. Migration today truly is a phenomenon that touches all the corners of the earth. In our world, there are more than 230 million persons living in countries not of their birth. Sadly, as we know, this migration is not always by choice, or always welcomed. The United Nations High Commission for Refugees estimates that more people are fleeing war, persecution and conflict than ever before, and human displacement is at its highest level in 70 years, with a record 70.8 million people around the world displaced, or having fled from their country. Their journeys are often extremely desperate, their health and psychosocial needs complex. I think of children growing up in camps for displaced people, a lack of access to education and the basics of water and sanitation impacting on their very identity, their wellbeing, and their futures.
During this Missionary month of October, I remember Mother Cabrini’s obedience to go ‘to the West’ where she tended to one of the greatest needs of her time, the mass migration of millions from Europe to the Americas. She lamented about what she saw when she arrived in the United States, the inhumane living conditions, spiritual poverty, and how the migrants were taken advantage of. In our day, the geographies where people have been forced to flee from include Venezuela, Syria, South Sudan, Haiti, and Afghanistan to name just a few. As Missionary Sisters and Missionaries of the Sacred Heart, our call is an active one, to “welcome, protect, promote, and integrate” our sisters and brothers in the countries they are seeking refuge in or passing through. This call is at the heart of our very being, our evangelization, and our interconnectedness. I embrace all of you in your quiet heroism, as you answer this cry in serving, supporting, and praying for others, often in difficult situations.
As I reflect on migration and mission, I am reminded of the Holy Family who fled to Egypt, and Jesus, in communion with us, who shares the experience of those who are migratory, and those without a home to call their own. All are being held in Him, all redeemed in Him, all of us equal in Him. The Holy Father has called us to unite in this, an ‘ever–widening we’, committing ourselves, and encouraging others, to restore our human family. How we respond to this call, to the needs of the most vulnerable among us, echoes into eternity. May we be the instruments of a positive narrative about migration, and protagonists of helping God’s reign be on earth as it is in heaven.
Blessings on your missions and work this next quarter, and thank you for remaining steadfast in these very challenging times.
Yours in missionary love,
Sr. Barbara Staley, MSC, General Superior