We have been seeking compassionate, comprehensive

immigration reform since 2005. In this 9th year of this

journey of seeking “legislative shelter”, may we

accompany and welcome our immigrant brothers and

sisters through prayer, reflection and action. Take

legislative action at

http://www.justiceforimmigrants.org/.

First Week of Advent: Crafted by God

Give the gift of charity and time. Over 90 local

parishes host Posadas each year. Go to

http://www.catholicsandimmigrants.org/ for a

Posada directory. Pray for all people seeking

Posada.

Second Week of Advent: Comforting the

Mothers

Light a candle on Dec. 12th for the Feast of Our

Lady of Guadalupe and pray for those engaging

in pilgrimage to Our Lady of Guadalupe in Des

Plaines.

Third Week of Advent: Crying in the Desert

Join the Immigration Reform Posada (seeking

shelter) on Dec. 19, 2014, 7:15 a.m., 101 W.

Congress Ave., Chicago

Attend Southwest Fil-Am Catholic Community

Simbang Gabi, a Filipino devotional practice,

Dec. 15th-Dec.23rd

For more information on both events, go to

http://www.catholicsandimmigrants.org/ or call

312-534-8105

Fourth Week of Advent: Preparing the Way

Join the Rosary Prayer Vigil at the Broadview

Detention Center, 1930 S. Beach St., Broadview,

Fridays at 7:15 a.m. or pray a Rosary in

solidarity with those being deported.

www.facebook.com/office.for.immigrant.affairs

For more information, contact Elena Segura, Director, Office for Immigrant Affairs & Immigration Education at

312-534-5333 or esegura@archchicago.org or visit www.catholicsandimmigrants.org/

Advent Reflections 2014

A Journey

Of Solidarity with

Families:

Make Straight the Paths

www.catholicsandimmigrants.org/

The Fourth Week of Advent

December 21st—December 24th Preparing the Way

~Light three purple candles and one pink candle

during the fourth week of Advent~

“Therefore the child to be born will be

called holy, the Son of God.” ~ Luke:1:35

For the past weeks, we have spiritually

journeyed with the unaccompanied children.

While our Advent journey will soon come to an

end with the celebration of Christmas, the

journey of the children is far from over as they

face nearly unbearable hardships of their

travels.

This week’s Gospel portrays Mary as

troubled by the announcement of the angel

Gabriel. Like Mary, we are troubled. We are

troubled by the number of unaccompanied

children entering the US, the conditions from

which they are fleeing, and by the rejection of

some to the children in our own country.

We are called to see the holiness of all

children and to see every person as created in

the image and likeness of God. This is a basic

tenant of our faith.

In his remarks on World Refugee Day,

Pope Francis said, “We cannot be insensitive

to these families or towards our refugee

brothers and sisters. We are called to help

them, opening ourselves to understanding and

hospitality…In their faces is etched the face of

Christ!” As we prepare to enter the Christmas

season, let us see the face of Christ in all God’s

People! Let us always remember our

commitment to make straight the paths for

these children and all journeying from a

distance!

PRAYER: Beloved Jesus, who knew the safety

and love of a family, we pray that

unaccompanied children may be safely united

with their families. May we be brother and

sister to all and see Christ’s face in all who

come from distant lands.

The First Week of Advent

November 30th —December 6th Crafted by God

~Light one purple candle during the first week of

Advent~

“Yet, O Lord, you are our father; we are the

clay and you the potter: we are all the work

of your hands.” ~ Isaiah 64: 7

Forced migration is a story of

desperation in which people are compelled,

by circumstances beyond their control, to

leave their homes. This narrative frequently

emerges as a theme not only in world history

but also in the Bible; from the expulsion of

Adam and Eve from the Garden and the

exodus of Moses and the Israelites to Mary

and Joseph’s journey to Bethlehem. God is all

too familiar with the plight of migrants.

Recently, our attention has shifted to

the influx of unaccompanied migrant

children. This year’s Advent reflection is a

prayer for these children and families for

they are the work of God’s hands.

Typically, parents seek the best for

their children, often sacrificing their own

well-being to provide for their sons and

daughters. Children in Central America are

now attempting, with the blessing of their

parents, to escape endemic poverty and

violence and to reunite with relatives across

the border. The goals of safety and family

reunification motivate these children to risk

their lives. The prophet Isaiah reminds us

that God, the master potter, crafted each of

us with dignity and purpose: “we are all the

work of [God’s] hands.”

PRAYER: God, Our Father, grant that we

may help all children realize their dignity and

purpose. United by Our Father, we pray for

the compassion that compels us stand in

solidarity with our immigrant brothers and

sisters, especially the children.

The Second Week of Advent

December 7th - December 13th Comforting the Mothers

~Light two purple candles during the second

week of Advent~

“Comfort, give comfort to my people, says

your God.” ~ Isaiah 40:1

During the second week of Advent,

we celebrate the Solemnity of the

Immaculate Conception (Dec. 7th

) and the

Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe (Dec. 12th

).

The Immaculate Conception teaches us that

Mary was free from sin. When we celebrate

Mary in the Feast of Our Lady of

Guadalupe, we are reminded of her

compassionate response toward the

marginalized.

Our Lady remains a source of

comfort for Latin American mothers whose

lives are overwhelmed by hopelessness.

Mothers living in developing countries often

feel trapped by a system that does not

provide basic human rights. They are

compelled to send their children on a

journey to safety in the US. Family

members living in the US agonize as they

await the arrival of the children.

Our Lady intimately knows the

challenge of protecting a child. On her

journey to Bethlehem, she protected her

unborn son. Let Mary serve as a source of

hope for mothers separated from their

children and as our model of compassion.

Just as Our Lady of Guadalupe is moved

with compassion towards the

unaccompanied migrant children, let us all

also be moved.

PRAYER: Mother Mary, comfort the

mothers who fear for the safety of their

children. God of Justice, give us the

strength of Our Lady as we work toward

guaranteeing the safety of the

unaccompanied children as we create just

immigration laws to protect all families.

The Third Week of Advent

December 14th - December 20th Crying in the Desert

~Light two purple candles and one pink candle

during the third week of Advent~

“He said: ‘I am the voice of one crying out

in the desert, ‘make straight the way of the

Lord’...” ~ John 1:23

This week’s verse, quoted from

Isaiah, is used to refer to John the Baptist as

“the voice of one crying in the desert.” Today,

immigrants are still traveling the deserts.

On their journey through the desert

to the US, many face life threatening dangers.

Some travel as far as 1,500 miles by jumping

on and off freight trains. By doing so, they

risk losing limbs or even falling to their

deaths. Now, unaccompanied children, as well

as adults, seek “legislative shelter” in the US.

Faced with this terrible journey, the

Gospel offers an alternative reality. John the

Baptist uses his ministry as a platform to

prepare his followers for Jesus Christ. John

also uses one of the richest expressions of the

Bible: the “Way,” a choice which Christians

connect with Jesus. John the Baptist

announces “the way of the Lord,” and Jesus

refers to himself as “the Way.”

During this week of Advent,

remember both the adults and

unaccompanied children who endure

unimaginable violence crossing the deserts.

Let us be John the Baptists and make straight

the way for immigration reform. Let us

reflect Jesus, the “Way,” and engage in the

Gospel’s alternative path and change those

immigration laws that endanger children and

adults alike.

PRAYER: God of the Prophets, give us the

courage to be the voice crying in the desert, to

make straight the pathways for just

immigration reform and offer Posada to all

seeking legislative shelter.