eBulletin February 9, 2025

“Whom shall I send?  Who will go for us?”  This is the voice of God to the Prophet Isaiah.  And Isaiah answers, “Here I am.  Send me!” I feel like that could also be the voice of undocumented parents these days. “Who will go for us?  Who will stand up for us?”  

Sunday’s readings are all about the call that God makes to us, and how any of us can feel unworthy.  The Prophet Isaiah, when called, says “Woe is me, I am doomed!  For I am a man of unclean lips.”  To which God touches him and cleanses him, and thus prepares him.   And in the Gospel, Simon is overwhelmed with the catch of fish.  In the face of such abundance, he says, “Leave me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.”   Jesus pays no attention to Simon’s sense of unworthiness, and he simply says, “Do not be afraid.  From now on you will be catching people.”

Perhaps you youth and young adults feel some hesitancy to step into the spotlight, to step into leadership in your parish.  It is easier to stay on the sidelines.  Some of you have shared that you feel invisible at Our Lady of Guadalupe, that we cater more to your parents than to you.  I feel I am guilty of that.  But right now we need you.  We need your passion, your gratitude for your parents, your sense of justice.  We need you to step into the center and speak to the parish, to the Church, to the City of San Diego, to the country that what is happening with the threats of massive deportations is wrong.  We need you to declare that the executive order that says that ICE can enter places previously deemed sacred, like our churches, schools, and hospitals, is morally repugnant and that you will not accept it.  

I can imagine some of you might feel unworthy.  Some of you might say, “Who me?”  But I believe God is going to equip you and give you the words to say.   Think of how your parents have filled your lives with goodness, how they have sacrificed for you, how they, like Jesus did with Simon, have filled your boat to abundance.  Now maybe your parents cannot speak and risk deportation.   But you can.  And we need you to do so.  Do not be afraid.  Your time is now.  God calls you.

Please pray and join the procession with us, for our undocumented brothers and sisters!  

The Diocesan Prayer service is at 2 pm at St. Joseph’s Cathedral (1536 Third Ave), followed by a procession to the Federal Building (880 Front Street).  

For those that want to support in prayer, the blessed sacrament will be exposed from 2-4 pm in the church.