A while ago, a friend whom I will call Pedro shared with me a difficult situation for him.
His parents, brothers and sisters had arrived in the United States, illegally, several years prior. There were many difficulties in their country of origin, and together, several families made the decision to emigrate. Pedro was very small, about 3 or 4 years old.
Several years passed before they were able to settle down. Little by little the family was finding a way of life with integrity, security and well-being.
However, Pedro and his family felt something like a shadow over them, due to their immigration status.
When it was the right time for them, they began to look for legal resources to adjust their immigration status. They had consultations with several professionals, but they were still not entirely sure with whom to work. They were aware of many other cases in which acquaintances of theirs fell prey to apparent “professionals,” and the consequences were not good.
Some of his acquaintances were charged a lot of money for the process, and for others the process seemed to take much longer than for others with a practically similar situation. Then they realized that the person who was “helping” them had not even handed over the documents to start the process.
The uncertainty, the fear of a possible deportation and having to return to their country of origin had them on edge.
What his parents decided was to find a different person to help them. They realized that some of their acquaintances had made the decision with whom to work a bit hastily.
Finally, after investing time and money in several interviews, they found a person with whom they felt comfortable working. They had already been saving for some time for the legal process, so the cost for them was not so heavy.
Pedro was still quite young when this happened, and he shared with me that what he remembered most from his parents was a sense of fear.
Being undocumented was a topic that was not discussed with many people outside of his family. It was a topic of pain, silence, shame.
Pedro does not remember how many years passed between the date on which the legalization process began, and the date on which they received the great news that they were now legal residents. It was a great weight lifted off their shoulders.
They, as a family, were very grateful to the person they hired for the legal process. They took the necessary steps, and the joint work yielded a result in favor of them as a family.
They were so happy, they wanted to celebrate and share the news with their closest friends. But something stopped them.
Some of those same friends and family members with whom they wanted to share the news, still did not have information about their respective processes, and some others had even been scammed by other people who turned out to be incompetent.
They wanted to celebrate, but they felt guilty.
And you, do you have something to celebrate?
Do you know who you could celebrate with without something feeling off?
Jesus’ first miracle happened at a celebration, at a party. Mary, his momma, and his friends were also at that party. The reason for the celebration? What we know today as the wedding at Cana.
We can see a celebration as sharing our joy. What is it like for you when someone close to you shares something significant that has happened to them?
The bride and groom celebrating their wedding invited a lot of people.
Pedro and his family did not know who to celebrate with. They did not want their joy to be interpreted as representing pain or discomfort for those who had not yet had favorable news.
Then, they asked themselves something else. Who would really be happy to share that great achievement with? Or, who would they themselves be happy to celebrate with if the situation was the other way around?
It seems that Mary, at the wedding at Cana, wanted to continue celebrating and for the party to continue. When she noticed that there was no more wine, she told Jesus about it, and we have what we know today as Jesus’ first miracle.
Whether it is big or small, what would you like to celebrate that you haven’t done yet?
Who can you invite?
And when someone shares their joy with you, can you receive it? Mary and Jesus could. The party continued to be for the bride and groom.
Pedro and his family decided to celebrate with those they knew would share their joy, and with whom they would equally rejoice if the situation was the other way around.
If the Spirit lads you, share with Jesus the carpenter what you would like to celebrate, whether it is big or small. And perhaps, if you invite Mary, she will support you in extending your celebration.
Marisol
P.S. We can hear about celebrating with Jesus and Mary in the readings of the Second Sunday of Ordinary Time, year/cycle C.
