Monday, February 2, 2026: "I’m afraid too.  Let me be afraid with you. " A homily from our friend and mentor Father Jim Fredericks

Ten years ago this month, Pope Francis celebrated mass in Ciudad Juarez. Mass was held at the wall. Those who gathered for mass that day stood on both sides of the wall. There were thousands in Ciudad Juarez and thousands more on the other side of the wall in El Paso. 

Two cities. Two countries. One Church. 

At that mass, ten years ago, Pope Francis spoke about the suffering of immigrants and their dignity as human beings. He spoke in solidarity with “the exploited, the extorted and the marginalized.”  

And then he said something very important for us here at Saint Leo’s. He said: some will measure this crisis in terms of “numbers and statistics.” The Church, however, must take a different path. The Church must think about immigration in terms of “names, stories and families.” 

In my homily for you today, I am not going talk about numbers and statistics. I’m not going to mention any names either. But I very much want to tell you a story about one of our families here at Saint Leo’s. 

 Some years ago, a great sadness came down hard on a family here at Saint Leo’s. The husband in this family, a gardener, suffered a heart attack and died. He left behind a wife and several children, some still in grammar school. 

I used to visit the widow from time to time. I would bake pan dulce for her kids and then sit with her at her kitchen table.  I must confess: it wasn’t real pan dulce. I just baked some of my grandmother’s Irish Soda Bread. This bread has butter and sugar and raisins. I call it pan dulce. The kids like it. Close enough. 

 One day, sitting at the kitchen table, My friend said to me,  

 "Padre, tengo miedo."  (Father, I'm afraid) 

What was I to say in response to this good woman? Don’t be afraid? Things will turn around? You’re going to be okay? Never would I say this. Who am I to say “don’t be afraid”? She is a widow mother with children to support. 

So, I said to her, 

"I’m afraid too.  Let me be afraid with you. "

This happened years ago. More recently, my friend sat at my kitchen table. She had brought me tamales. And, once again, she said to me, : Padre, tengo miedo. " ("Father, I'm afraid")

But this time, she said that she was afraid of being arrested by ICE and deported. She was also afraid of being separated from her children. The Gospel for today is about being afraid. Listen: 

 Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the land. Blessed are they who hunger and thirst  for righteousness, for they will be satisfied. 

Blessed are they who are persecuted  for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they insult you  and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you falsely because of me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven. 

Why are these words about being afraid? The Lord never  uses the word “fear.”  

The beatitudes are about being afraid because the Lord, in his mercy, has sought out people who are afraid. The poor in spirit are afraid. Those who mourn are afraid. The meek are afraid. Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness are afraid and so are the merciful. 

And, of course, the persecuted are afraid. 

I need for you to hold in your heart an important teaching: our Lord knows what it’s like to be afraid. Remember: the Messiah was born among us as a helpless little baby who quickly became a refugee. The Santo Niño had to flee the cruelty of King Herod and his soldiers. Our Lord knows what it means to be an immigrant. Indeed, he knows what is means to be a refugee.  

And our Savior knows what it means to be afraid.  So today, as your priest, let me say, Blessed are those who are afraid.  

Blessed are those who fear that they might be arrested and deported. 

Blessed are the immigrants who have come to us here at Saint Leo’s to share their faith with us: the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs. 

Let me open my heart, once again, to you all here today.  Let me repeat what I have said repeatedly: 

Thank you for coming here to the United States. Thank you for all your hard work. 

And yes, yes, yes: thank you for your children. They are truly wonderful. They are our future. 

And above all else, I want to say:  I am afraid too.  

Let me be afraid with you.