Bridges and walls

Bishop Kicanas distributes the Body of Christ during mass at the border wall in 2014.

In December of 2018, the Republican controlled Senate in Washington passed a short term funding bill that would keep the government open until February 2019. The president initially indicated that he would sign it. This was not ideal, but anything, as we know, is better than a shutdown. This bill passed by voice with no dissent – no dissent at all. It was contentious to get there, but this was something that Majority Leader Mitch McConnell wanted to pass to get through the holidays without a shutdown.

The president refused to sign anything that did not give him his wall money.

For reference, it should be remembered that

Advertisement

Is there another way?

 

Adoration of the Magi by Stanley Cooke

Epiphany means many things, but in the context of this day, it is a kind of spark of understanding something new. In that way, the Magi follow a star in the sky and make their way to the Holy Land, wanting to see the newborn king. It would make sense to them to check in with the current king, after all, they themselves were kings, right?

Clearly Herod was not too happy to hear about another king. He was not so secure in his power, he was angry and defensive, he had a huge ego, and he wanted things his way,

Shadow and light at the border

Today there was a bit of  row in the Oval Office. Apparently if the wall is not built, terrible people will be streaming over the southern borders and making America worse by the minute.

The timing of this conversation and the impending (read: horrible) government shutdown has been on my mind. I just finished a book that took my breath away at every turn, a book that had me crying as I read its last words on its final page, a book about the border.

Add to all of this, today is the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, patroness of the Americas. Of the many apparitions of Mary, the Mother of God, she may just be my favorite. Entire volumes have been written about her, so this short blog post won’t go into all of her details. If you need to know more about her, she is easily found.

For the sake of our post today, let it suffice to say that Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe is a universally present and beloved presence