We Belong to One Another
Can you name an experience, a conversation, a class, or a grace-filled moment that caused you to ruminate in the idea that we belong to one another? Father Greg Boyle, S.J., often writes about this as finding “kinship” and from this, returning to our deepest selves.
I think we are perhaps born with an innate desire to love. As we age, we need more reminders to, as Jesus puts it in today’s gospel, “love the Lord, your God, with your whole heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind” and to secondly, “love your neighbor as yourself.” Moments of kinship can return us to that place of love to God, ourselves, and others.
A few years ago, I spent a week serving with the Kino Border Initiative (KBI), a binational organization that exists in Nogales, AZ, and Nogales, MX, working to promote humane migration through direct humanitarian assistance, education, and advocacy. The group I was with consisted of college students, a professor, and a university staff member. We were all committed to being with those most on the margins. We spent our lunch time serving food to migrants just across the U.S. border in Mexico. I was washing up dishes one day and one of the men was helping me. He explained that he had been recently deported after living in the U.S. with his wife and two daughters. He showed me photos of them on his phone. I pulled out my phone and showed him a photo of my two daughters. I knew that I would be returning to them in less than a week. He did not know when he would see his family again.
I can still feel the kinship from that moment. It was sad, strong, and messy. He and I were two parents showing one another photos of our daughters. I was born in the U.S. and he was not. It was tough to walk away from that moment because I felt powerless. I wanted to help him. But in reality, the best I could do was to tell his story, talk about the connection we felt, and how complicated issues around migration can be. Then, pray, continue reflecting, and advocate.
We all have these grace-filled calls for kinship in our lives. They come daily–perhaps with a neighbor or someone in the grocery store. We need to be open. Today’s readings call us to return to ourselves by loving God, ourselves, and our neighbors. Get messy and listen up! We belong to one another.
Sarah Signorino has 20 years of experience in mission and ministry. She served as the Assistant Director in Campus Ministry and the Director of Mission & Identity at her alma mater, Canisius University. During that time she also began and co-directed Canisius' Be the Light Youth Theology Institute in 2018, funded by the Lilly Endowment. Sarah is an oblate in the Erie Benedictine community of Mount St. Benedict’s Monastery. Sarah lives with her family in Buffalo, NY, and enjoys hiking, reading about women's spirituality, planning retreats, and going on adventures with her three kids. You can find more of her writing at the Ignatian Solidarity Network, Wisdom Dwelling, and on Substack.
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