Do You Know Enough About Immigration?
When I saw the title of the book, “Trails of Hope and Terror: Testimonies of Immigration”, I was immediately drawn to read this account by Miguel De La Torre. I knew I did not know much about immigration and what a Christian view should be. Even the Preface was packed with vital information about the history of our country, much of which I had never known.
Each of the seven sections (Borders, Economics, Myths, Family Values, the Politics of Fear, Perspectives, and Ethical Responses) examines an issue and then includes stories or testimonies by undocumented migrants and those who work with the undocumented. The chapters conclude with a poem, prayer or a song that expresses the hope and the terror involved in crossing the border between Mexico and the United States.
The book can be purchased through Amazon.com or from Maryknoll’s Orbis books.
This past week I made my annual retreat at our place in beautiful Pine Mountain. With me I took a little volume entitled, I Heard God Laughing by Hafiz, a 14 century Sufi poet. Let me share with you the first poem, a delightfully playful verse.
From time to time I pick up a volume that never ceases to challenge me. The book “Abandonment to God” by Jean-Pierre De Caussade, S.J., (d.1751) calls the reader to give each moment of the day to God, trusting that His Providence has ordered everything for our good. “The present moment is an ever-flowing source of holiness,” Caussade says, “and all will be well if we abandon ourselves to the will of God.” Of course, suffering from “spiritual amnesia”, I eventually fall back into feeling that I alone am responsible for the proper running of the world. Still, his advice is a powerful antidote for habits of worry and control: dwelling on the past, fearing for the future, gnawing on regrets, and anticipating the worst.
Open The Door by Joyce Rupp, Sorin Books, 2008