You Have to Do Something

By Susan Flansburg

Two elderly Catholic Sisters were handcuffed and dragged off to jail last summer for standing still and praying. Sisters of Mercy JoAnn Persch and Pat Murphy - ages 85 and 90, respectively - were participating in the Catholic Day of Action for Immigrant Children on July 18, 2019, in Washington, D.C. Afterwards, they were sanguine about it.

“You have to do something,” Sr. JoAnn said after their release. “The little bit of discomfort we felt that day is so minimal to what the immigrants go through.”

I heard this sentiment again and again as I interviewed Sisters, Brothers and priests for a story that appears in the new Vision Vocation magazine. They want to do something to help “the human family,” as Sr. Pat said. Their example is inspiring.

Some work directly with migrants in or near detention camps, helping provide food and supplies. Others provide assistance to migrants many miles from the border, helping with housing, legal issues, social services. Viatorian Father Corey Brost takes a different approach, working to educate young Americans who might someday make a difference.

“We leave our comfort zones to search for God in the desert,” he says of the pilgrimage he takes them on. “We walk into the experiences of people who live through this human-rights tragedy of migration. We ask: How does our faith intersect with it? The young people say the pilgrimage humanizes the complex issue of immigration. It connects human suffering with our Catholic teaching.”

The cultural anthropologist Margaret Mead once said, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” The Sisters, Brothers and priests I met for this story are thoughtful, committed citizens. Shining lights. Enjoy!