June 20 is World Refugee Day! This year's theme is "hope away from home," which presents us with an opportunity to re-imagine a world where refugees, asylum seekers, and all migrants are welcomed with compassion and treated with justice.
Join us today for a virtual faith vigil for World Refugee Day today at 4pm ET! Register here: bit.ly/WRD-VFV
Take a look at the USCCB's World Refugee Day toolkit, which contains a prayer, a set of frequently asked questions, and a link to an oral history archive with 165 migrant stories.
Original poem by Sr. Ann Hayden, MM, Download as PDF
Imperious Question/Weary Answer
Power Demands:
How could you, why would you, leave your home?Weariness Answers:
We seek refuge from what
Robs the soul and breaks the body.
We have no more faith in a future that steals our life.
So much was taken from us
Our skin sags on our bones.
Our loss flaps around us like a vulture
Or like a demented “disappearing” cloak.
We want only to be seen once again with kindness
Or offered a shoulder to lean on and rest awhile.
We need to encounter a few hearts afire
With a little love for us.
Hearts ready to help clear a path for our weary way.
And perhaps to re-ignite the still warm ashes
Of our own, almost forgotten, fire of HOPE!Ann Hayden, MM, June 6, 2023
World Refugee Day - June 20, 2023