Standing up for human dignity as Lent begins
“Lord, have mercy!” The cry echoed forty-nine times, hammering the night in a plea of two hundred voices, as Deacon Andrew Golden, who serves at Newark’s Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart, read the names of people who had died in ICE custody at various detention centers across the country.
It was cold, and a fine rain stung the faces and umbrellas of those gathered in the parking lot next to Delaney Hall in Newark, where those detained by ICE agents are confined. The Feb. 18 service was different from many other Ash Wednesday services held elsewhere that day, or from those taking place at the same hour in the parishes across the Archdiocese.
“They are in there praying the rosary, united with us in prayer because they know we are here,” Father Alex Gaitán, Coordinator of Immigration Ministry, reminded us, pointing to the detention center building. “They were crying when I told them you were coming tonight to pray for them.”
That’s why, from time to time, our gaze turned toward the illuminated windows of the facility.
Recognizing the dignity of each person
We were there as night fell, inspired by the words of Cardinal Joseph Tobin, Archbishop of Newark, who had been the first to visit the detainees at the Center early that morning and celebrate Mass with them.
“It was a moment of very somber and palpable suffering,” the cardinal would say the next day in a CNN interview, “because they were separated from their families, from the people they most wanted to be with. But I saw incredible solidarity among these women, especially at a moment called the Sign of Peace … That gives meaning to what I do — to simply recognize the dignity of each person and to work together in the community to make sure that that dignity is recognized and respected.”
Throughout the day, auxiliary bishops from the Archdiocese of Newark followed, celebrating Masses for various groups among the more than 1,000 detainees.
How different this Ash Wednesday was from previous years! With the noise of trucks in the background and with rain falling, Father Alex calmly guided us to understand the moment and the reason for the celebration in such an unusual place. We also listened to the Word of God, followed by a very moving commentary in English and Spanish by Bishop Manuel Cruz.
“Today,” Bishop Cruz told us, his voice filled with emotion, “we witnessed the suffering and tears of so many men and women. We saw them on their knees, begging God for mercy. Saying: ‘Lord, I want to do your will, but if possible, take this pain away because all of this is unfair. Why, Lord? They were so afraid! Tonight I am cold and wet, but my heart is burning. When I return home, it cannot be the same, because I have touched the wounded heart of Christ in the suffering of so many men and women who are afraid and long to be with their families. We embraced them one by one at the end of Mass, telling them that we will continue fighting so that they can return home to their families. We promised them that they will not be alone. We left confused and saddened, but with great hope in our hearts.”
Ashes and rain
The cry of “Forgive your people, Lord” rose with anguish from the throats of all those present, accompanied by the strains of two guitars, while the four auxiliary bishops present, along with some priests and deacons, marked the foreheads of those gathered with ashes, doubly blessed because the rain continued to fall.
After the service, dodging puddles and piles of snow, we processed in front of the Detention Center, where each bishop gave a brief account of the four ICE detainees who had died there, honoring their memory with a narrative unlike the distorted official versions.
One more prayer for each of them and a repeated cry of “Long live Christ the King!” and “Long live Our Mother!” The shouts were forceful, in the hope that they would be heard on the other side of the wall.
“Let’s shout loudly,” Father Alex told us, “so they can hear us. They need our support to have hope.”
“We need you to have hope.” Echoing the words that Cardinal Tobin has previously shared, we said goodbye by repeatedly writing the word NO on the ground with colored chalk. “No to what wounds human dignity. No to the dehumanizing treatment suffered by so many immigrants.”
The rain may have washed away what was written on the ground, but what was etched in our hearts that night is there to stay.
To view more images from the Ash Wednesday service near Delaney Hall, click HERE.
Deacon Asterio Velasco is the Director of Hispanic Ministry for the Archdiocese of Newark.
Featured image: Father Alex Gaitán presides over an Ash Wednesday service in front of Delaney Hall in Newark, accompanied (from right to left) by Bishop Michael Saporito, Bishop Manuel Cruz, Bishop Emeritus Gregory Studerus, Bishop Elias Lorenzo, Deacon Asterio Velasco, and Deacon Andrew Golden. (Photos courtesy of Father Alex Gaitán/Archdiocese of Newark)
