A Hot Migrant Mass

I was lost somewhere east of I-25 but I did not know I was lost until I saw DIA's white peaks. Driving in farm country I saw fields just beginning to sprout up in dark green colors while other fields lay dormant in dull yellow.  I was trying to find my way to Brighton, CO, where a migrant mass was scheduled for 4:30 in the afternoon. When I finally got my bearings I was twenty miles west of Ft. Lupton and was able to get myself to Brighton. Many trucks and cars parked on a dusty road, a Quonset home, dark and light people milling around and a sheet hanging from a wall with pictures of Our Lady of Guadalupe and a small table to be used as an altar and I had found the site for the mass.

An announcement in the Spirit of Christ Catholic Community bulletin had prompted me to attend the outdoor mass. I did not know I would run into people I knew but when I did, I was filled with a warm and happy feeling. The day was hot. The sun seemed to burn my shoulders and head. Some of the fair skinned people turned a pinkish red. "Just think," Sister Molly (an advocate for migrant workers) said, "We are just in the sun for an hour or two but people who work in the fields are in the hot, blistering sun for over eight hours."

I introduced myself and spoke to a few families in Spanish. My surprise came when the majority spoke English. "I wanted to practice my Spanish," I told a couple. They laughed and said, "We can speak Spanish too but we are 2nd and 3rd generation from Texas and speak English!"

There were canvas chairs to share, a canopy set up for some shade and umbrellas were passed
around. It gave me a good feeling to see how everyone was concerned and tried to help their fellow man.
Being near the corn fields was an appropriate place that fit right in with the sermon for Sunday,  Matthew 13:1-9, The Parable of the Sower. Fr. Prudencio Rodriguez celebrated the mass and gave a wonderful homily. The same one I had heard that morning at mass but now I was hearing it in Spanish. As the sower throws the seeds on the ground they land on the side of the road where birds eat them up just like the devil eats away at our faith; seeds in the thorns are choked by wanting power and wealth causing people to forget their faith; seeds on rocky ground will spring up right away but the sun will burn the plants because there are no roots; and seeds on fertile ground hear the word of God and bear fruit.

The religious music, of guitar and keyboard comprised of three women and a man, had a bounce to it. The last hymn had people clapping and moving to a Cumbia rhythm. (an Hispanic dance tune). The group  mentioned that they travel and sing wherever they are needed or invited. After mass everyone enjoyed pizza and cookies while chatting about their lives.
 

"Migrants are an asset to every country 

where they bring their labor. Let us give 

them the dignity they deserve as human beings

and the respect they deserve as workers."

Juan Somavia