Love the stranger, participate in God’s mercy

By Fr Stephan Alexander

General Manager, CCSJ and AMMR

In the heart of the Law of Moses, God spoke to the Israelites with tenderness and authority, cautioning them “not [to] wrong or oppress a resident alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt” (Ex 22:21).

Later, in the book of Deuteronomy, the Lord’s words took on a more affirmative tone as He invited His people to, “love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt” (Deut 10:19).

This divine injunction was never meant to become a relic of Israel’s history. It is a living mandate that reveals God’s heart, a heart that beats with mercy for the vulnerable.

God’s people are therefore called to understand that mercy toward the vulnerable is not merely an act of kindness; it is an act of faithfulness and worship to God. As the Israelites were once called to remember their own story of deliverance, we too are called to remember ours.

Every time we extend compassion to the widow, the orphan, or the stranger (Ex 22:21–24), we mirror the God who rescued His people from bondage and who continues to deliver us from indifference. To love the stranger, then, is to participate in God’s own mercy, allowing His compassion to flow through our hearts and into the world.

In this same spirit, the Church offers us November as our ‘Mercy Month’, where we are invited to renew our faithfulness to the Lord’s command by turning our hearts toward those who, in our own time, live as strangers among us.

The migrants and refugees within our shores embody the very reality that God urged His people never to forget. Many have fled violence, poverty, and despair, seeking not charity but dignity and peace.

To love them is to remember who we are: people once delivered, now called to be deliverers; people once shown mercy, now charged to show mercy. As communities of faith, this is the moment to make our remembrance concrete, ensuring that a significant portion of our Mercy Month collections becomes a lifeline for the migrant and refugee population, primarily the children served through the CCSJ’s Child Friendly Spaces (CFS).

Our CFS sites are sanctuaries of hope, places where children from displaced families can learn, play, and grow in an environment that restores their sense of worth and belonging.

For many of these young ones, who have endured the trauma of uprooting and uncertainty, the Church’s care becomes the first real sign that God has not forgotten them.

Through collaboration with our Parish Ministries for Migrants and Refugees (PMMR), we have accompanied hundreds of families on their journey toward stability and dignity. Yet, to continue this work, the CCSJ and PMMRs depend entirely on the generosity of people who choose to see, to care, and to act.

This is why we invite individuals, ministries, parishes, and communities to let this biblical call shape the direction of your giving. Mercy is not a passive sentiment, but an active compassion.

The prophet Isaiah links mercy to justice when he proclaims: “learn to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow”. Hence, we must act in solidarity, understanding that mercy is how faith takes flesh.

In this Jubilee Year, when we celebrate God’s mercy poured out in abundance, let us ensure that the mercy we proclaim reaches the strangers among us who need it most.

Imagine if every community set aside a portion of its Mercy Month collection specifically to assist the CCSJ’s outreach to migrant families. Imagine the smiles of children who receive a meal, a book, and a moment of joy because someone remembered them.

When we give generously to assist migrants and refugees, we do not act out of pity but out of justice, recognising that every human person, regardless of nationality or legal status, possesses an inalienable dignity. Pope Francis repeatedly urged us to see migrants not as numbers or problems but as brothers and sisters with names, faces, and stories. To love them is to honour the God who loves us.

Parishes, individuals, and all those who are moved to respond to this call are encouraged to make a conscious commitment to:

1. Bless and pray for migrants and refugees within our liturgies. Ensure that they are invited and encouraged to participate in the life of the community.
2. Designate part of your ‘Tithe of Mercy,’ i.e., your Mercy Month collection, to support CCSJ’s migrant ministry, especially the CFS.
3. Send donations directly to the CCSJ, ensuring that your parish’s mercy becomes a light of hope for the strangers among us.

As Moses reminded Israel, kindness to the stranger was not an act of charity but of faithfulness to God’s covenant. Likewise, our Mercy Month is not another campaign—it is a renewal of covenantal love; an opportunity to rediscover who we are as the People of God: pilgrims of hope and mercy on the road of justice.

Donations to support the CCSJ’s ministry to migrants can be sent directly to the Catholic Commission for Social Justice office at Belmont Pastoral Campus, 34B Belmont Circular Road, Belmont, or via the bank account information provided.

The CCSJ asks for your support. Please donate:

Catholic Commission for Social Justice

Account #: 290 458 025 501

Bank: Republic Bank Ltd.

or you can contact us at: admin.ccsj@catholictt.org