Trinity Sunday, Year B

If I have denied anything to the poor … (Job 31:16)

A letter to the editor in the May 22, 2006 issue of the Times-Herald, Vallejo, Calif., reads in full [1]:

The current controversy about illegal immigration from south

of the border is a symptom that comes from the real problem,

which is poverty. As long as there are people living in

comparative wealth on the other side, there will be problems.

Civilization has not yet reached the point where one nation

considers it an obligation to raise the standard of living of

citizens of its neighbors. However, I would be proud of my

country and feel a lot better if our tax money were spent

helping our neighbors instead of erecting concrete and steel

fencing between us.

I agree with the writer of the letter, John Dunlap, even though it must be admitted that the problem of illegal immigration is quite complex (cf. [2]; [3]; [4]). I prefer such a simple statement, at once challenging and pressing, to one that bores and paralyzes due to its multiple nuances, subtle distinctions and careful clarifications. Let me just add that, if civilization has not yet reached the point specified in the letter, it also means, I am afraid, that those of us who have been baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, have not a little to do still in order to reach the point where we share more fully in the Most Holy Trinity’s life of communion and accept without any reservation the good news proclaimed by the Evangelizer of the Poor, anointed by the Lord with the Holy Spirit.