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On Migrants and Family
“The starting point for addressing the problem of migration
is recognizing the unity of the human family. Migration constitutes
one of the most complex challenges of our globalized world. The
human and ecclesial starting points the affirmation of equality
among persons -- completely beyond questions of ethnicity, language
and origin -- and the unity of the human family."
Archbishop Agostino Marchetto, secretary of the Pontifical Council
for Migrants and Travelers, shared these words during his talk entitled
"Human Rights and the Dignity of Migrants in the Age of Globalization"
during the symposium sponsored by the Konrad Adenauer Foundation
in cooperation with the Community Sant'Egidio with the theme "Human
Dignity and Human Rights in the Time of Globalization".
During his talk, the archbishop explained the reason behind the
Church "extremely attentive" to the welcoming and pastoral
care of migrants not forgetting that the phenomenon of migration
also carries with it "a complex mix of duties and rights, the
first of which is the right to migratory relocation.
He further explained that the right of governments to handle migration
must, for its part provide clear and viable measures for regular
entrance into the country, oversee the labor market to prevent the
exploitation of migrant workers, enact measures for regular integration,
combat xenophobic behavior, and promote the social, cultural and
religious coexistence that every pluralistic society demands. The
government must also correspond to its duty/right to guarantee lawfulness,
punish criminal behavior and delinquency and deal with people in
irregular situations," but always doing so "with respect
for human dignity, human rights and international agreements.
Archbishop Marchetto further explained that the safeguarding of
human dignity highlights the necessity of a specific pastoral care
for first and second generation migrants that should consider respect
for the use of the mother tongue in catechesis, preaching and the
administration of the sacraments, attention to the particular demands
of popular piety, and the assignment of expressly designated missionaries.
The pastoral structures must guarantee a progressive process of
active integration into the local Church, that overcomes, on the
one hand, the temptations of 'religious colonization' and total
assimilation, and avoids, on the other hand, the formation of a
ghetto.
Along with pastoral care, adequate social, civil and political interventions
must not be lacking, said Archbishop Marchetto. He added that migration
almost obliges us to put the human person at the center for the
sake of a profitable development of the whole family of peoples
and nations, urging priorities and precise criteria for intervention.
“There is a need to improve society's level of 'humanism,'
renewing the culture and education in its many ramifications. From
this perspective the knowledge of various ethnic groups and their
cultures is seen as an obligatory step that should be inserted into
educational programs and catechesis. The structures for the pastoral
care of migrants need to value occasions of meeting and dialogue,
that can help to improve interpersonal relations and also favor
a more complete and convinced witness to the evangelical message.
Toward this end it is necessary to emphasize "formation, especially
of young people, but also of leaders of groups and communities,"
the archbishop pointed out.
Archbishop Marchetto also added that dialogue between persons, communities,
peoples, cultures, religions and ethnic groups is urgent today and
is the secret of the future because closure and intolerance come
from making ourselves and our own group into idols.
In conclusion, Archbishop Marchetto stated that to have a positive
and lasting effect, globalization must be founded on a vision of
the human person that responds to Christian criteria that are profoundly
human, totally beyond materialist and atheist ideologies, which
are wedded to relativism, and in the end relativize the fundamental
dignity of every human person.
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| LIVES
OF THE SAINTS |
MARCH 1
St. Felix II
St Felix II, the pope is an ancestor of the future Pope St. Gregory the Great who lived from 540 to 604. 
MARCH 2
Blessed Charles the Good
Count Charles of Flanders, was called "the good" by the people of his kingdom. They named him for what they found him to truly be.
MARCH 3
Blessed Katharine Drexel
Blessed Katharine was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on November 26, 1858. Katharine's mother died when she was a baby.
MARCH 4
St. Casimir
St. Casimir was born in 1458, son of Casimir IV, king of Poland. Casimir was one of thirteen children.
MARCH 5
St. John Joseph of the Cross
St. John Joseph of the Cross was born in southern Italy on the feast of the Assumption, 1654. He was a young noble, but he dressed like a poor man.
MARCH 6
St. Colette
St. Nicolette was named in honor of St. Nicholas of Myra. She was born in 1380. Her loving parents nicknamed her Colette from the time she was a baby.
MARCH 7
St. Perpetua and St. Felicity
St. Perpetua and St. Felicity lived in Carthage, North Africa, in the third century. It was the time of the fierce persecution of Christians by Emperor Septimus Severus.
MARCH 8
St. John of God
St. John was born in Portugal on March 8, 1495. His parents were poor, but deeply Christian. John was a restless boy.
MARCH 9
St. Frances of Rome
St. Frances was born in 1384. Her parents were wealthy, but they taught Frances to be concerned about people and to live a good Christian life.
MARCH 10
St. Simplicius
St. Simplicius became pope in 468. Sometimes it seemed to him that he was all alone in trying to correct evils that were everywhere.
MARCH 11
St. Eulogius of Spain
St. Eulogius lived in the ninth century. His family was well-known and he received an excellent education. While he learned his lessons, he also learned from the good example of his teachers.
MARCH 12
St. Fina (Seraphina)
St. Fina was born in a little Italian town called San Geminiano. Her parents had once been well off, but misfortune had left them poor.
MARCH 13
St. Euphrasia
St. Euphrasia was born in the fifth century to deeply Christian parents. Her father, a relative of the emperor, died when she was a year old.
MARCH 14
St. Matilda
St. Matilda was born about 895, the daughter of a German count. When she was still quite young, her parents arranged her marriage to a nobleman named Henry.
MARCH 15
St. Zachary
St. Zachary was a Benedictine monk from Greece who lived in the eighth century. He became a cardinal and then pope.
MARCH 16
Blessed Torello
Blessed Torello was born in 1202, in Poppi, Italy. His life as a child in the village was ordinary and uneventful. But after his father's death.
MARCH 17
St. Patrick
St. Patrick was believed born in fifth-century Britain to Roman parents. When he was sixteen, he was captured by pirates and taken to Ireland.
MARCH 18
St. Cyril of Jerusalem
St. Cyril was born around 315 when a new phase was beginning for Christians. Before that date, the Church was persecuted by the emperors.
MARCH 19
St. Joseph
St. Joseph is a great saint. He was Jesus' foster-father and Mary's husband.
MARCH 20
St. Cuthbert
St. Cuthbert lived in England in the seventh century. He was a poor shepherd boy who loved to play games with his friends.
MARCH 21
St. Serapion
St. Serapion lived in Egypt in the fourth century. Those were exciting times for the Church and for St. Serapion.
MARCH 22
St. Deogratias
St. Deogratias was ordained bishop of the City of Carthage when it was taken over by barbarian armies in 439.
MARCH 23
St. Turibius of Mongrovejo
St. Turibius was born in 1538 in Leon, Spain. He became a university professor and then a famous judge.
MARCH 24
Blessed Didacus
Blessed Didacus Joseph was born on March 29, 1743, in Cadiz, Spain. He was baptized Joseph Francis.
MARCH 25
ANNUNCIATION OF THE LORD
The time arrived for Jesus to come down from heaven. God sent the Archangel Gabriel to the town of Nazareth where Mary lived.
MARCH 26
St. Ludger
St. Ludger was born in northern Europe in the eighth century. After he had studied hard for many years, he was ordained a priest.
MARCH 27
St. John of Egypt
St. John was man who desired to be alone with God was to become one of the most famous hermits of his time.
MARCH 28
St. Tutilo
St. Tutilo lived in the late ninth and early tenth centuries. He was educated at the Benedictine monastery of Saint-Gall.
MARCH 29
St. Jonas and St. Barachisius
King Sapor of Persia reigned in the fourth century. He hated Christians and persecuted them cruelly. He destroyed their churches and monasteries.
MARCH 30
St. John Climacus
St. John was believed born in Palestine in the seventh century. He seems to have been a disciple of St. Gregory Nazianzen.
MARCH 31
Blessed Joan of Toulouse
In 1240, some Carmelite brothers from Palestine started a monastery in Toulouse, France.
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PHOTO OF THE MONTH |
Tour
of the Relics of the Passion
(International Center
for Holy Relics)
www.HolyRelics.org
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| REFLECTIONS |
 “Jesus’
Baptism”
Why did Jesus, the sinless one sent from the Father in heaven,
submit himself to John’s baptism? John preached a
baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins (Luke
3:3). In this humble submission we see a foreshadowing of
the “baptism” of Jesus bloody death upon the
cross. Jesus’ baptism is the acceptance and the beginning
of his mission as God’s suffering Servant (Isaiah
52:13-15; 53:1-12). He allowed himself to be numbered among
sinners. Jesus submitted himself entirely to his Father’s
will. Out of love he consented to this baptism of death
for the remission of our sins. Do you know the joy of trust
and submission to God?
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