“I once was lost, but now am found…was blind but now I see.”

Mary Bridget Beddome

This past Sunday, we heard the gospel story about Jesus opening the eyes of a blind man.  We talked about movement from darkness to light, especially as we move through Lent.  Lent is a time of darkness, a time to reflect and prepare ourselves for the coming of the Light.  Sunday was also “Laetare” Sunday, a time we were called together to “Rejoice.”  Why are we rejoicing in the middle of Lent?  We’re not quite to the true time of rejoicing yet.  However, we are called to catch a glimpse of what is coming.  The Light is just becoming visible; it’s a small glimmer of hope in a somber season.  

In my daily work, I see people who leave times of darkness to come toward the light of a better life.  My current job is to help resettle refugees in the US after they have escaped countries wrought with war, persecution, and injustice.  Currently in St. Louis, we are mostly resettling refugees from Iraq, Burma (Myanmar), and many African nations including Somalia, Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sierra Leone, and Eritrea. The surprising thing is, once these people reach the US after months or years of waiting to escape their old homes, these people are not experiencing the paradise that they expected.  While they have left the darkest of times behind them, refugees come to find very different trials in the land of the free and the home of the brave.  

 It’s one thing to voluntarily study a foreign language, but imagine being forced to learn a new language to be able to survive in a strange new culture.  It’s certainly not easy to pick up a completely new language, especially as a grown adult.  Some refugees come from well-off backgrounds, having attended university and receiving top notch degrees before war tore their country apart.  Some have incredible job histories and even excellent English skills.  However marketable these things may sound, these highly educated people are often forced to begin their lives all over again because their degrees do not translate very well into our US system. I’ve seen engineers that have had to accept entry level jobs in St. Louis cleaning hotels, washing dishes, or operating warehouse machinery. It’s heartbreaking to witness the struggle that these families endure after the terrifying hardships they have already experienced. 

I couldn’t help but think of our refugees after hearing Sunday’s gospel and sensing that flicker of light before the true Light to come.  These people enter the US rejoicing to be alive, and yet their journey is not yet over.  They have a long way to go before they can happily integrate into a new country.  They see the glimmer of hope and they are patiently and courageously following the path toward independence, acceptance, and integration.  

So this week, think of what it means to follow that small flicker of light in anticipation of what’s coming. Reflect on what it means to hope…to really hope.  Put yourself in the shoes of a refugee in a new land, ever patiently moving toward a time of true joy.  Reflect on how you can be better prepared to welcome the Resurrection of our Lord, when the radiant Light will be fully revealed. 

Mary Bridget Beddome graduated from Saint Louis University in May 2010 with a B.A. in Psychology and with minors in Italian and Theology.  She is returning to SLU this coming fall to begin the journey toward a Master’s Degree in Social Work.  She loves her current work as a Case Coordinator for Catholic Charities Refugee Services in St. Louis.  MB is a fond admirer of her Godfather Fr. John Cusick and of his Chicago Cubs.